Hyde Park, NY
Politics
New Workplace Harassment Protections Become Law In New York New Workplace Harassment Protections Become Law In New York
New Workplace Harassment Protections Become Law In New York Employees in New York will be further protected from harassment under new legislation signed into law by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The new law “strengthens New York's anti-discrimination laws to ensure employees can seek justice and perpetrators will be held accountable by eliminating the restriction that harassment is ‘severe or pervasive’ in order to be legally actionable.” The legislation also mandates that all non-disclosure agreements allow employees to file a complaint of harassment or discrimination, and extends the statute of limitations for employment sexual harassment claims fil…

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by Zak Failla
Hackensack, NJ
News
County Executive: Hackensack BOE Trustee Who Called LGBTQ Teaching 'Repugnant' Should Resign County Executive: Hackensack BOE Trustee Who Called LGBTQ Teaching 'Repugnant' Should Resign
County Executive: Hackensack BOE Trustee Who Called LGBTQ Teaching 'Repugnant' Should Resign Bergen County Executive Jim Tedesco on Monday called for the resignation of a Hackensack School Board trustee who called new state laws that require teaching about LGBTQ history “repugnant.” “Bergen County’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths, and the thousands of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender help make us all stronger, and help make all of our 70 communities stronger," Tedesco said. “It is important that we stand in solidarity against bigotry, violence, and discrimination and continue to reaffirm our commitment to equal rights for everyone, especiall…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Mount Pleasant, NY
News
Swastikas Found Inside Textbook At Middle School In Westchester Swastikas Found Inside Textbook At Middle School In Westchester
Swastikas Found Inside Textbook At Middle School In Westchester Police in New Rochelle were called to a middle school in Westchester this week to investigate the latest incident involving swastikas. Officers from the New Rochelle Police Department responded to the school on Tuesday, April 9, when there was a report of swastikas drawn inside the back of a textbook. Last month, the school launched an investigation when the sign of hate was etched in a bathroom at Albert Leonard. Late last year, a four-inch swastika was found at the New Rochelle High School.  Police said that in the latest incident, a student reported to administrators finding the sw…

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by Zak Failla
Mount Pleasant, NY
Police & Fire
Swastika Found In Bathroom Of Middle School In Westchester Swastika Found In Bathroom Of Middle School In Westchester
Swastika Found In Bathroom Of Middle School In Westchester Educators are hoping to use a hateful gesture as a teaching lesson after a swastika was found etched in a middle school bathroom in Westchester. A middle school student in New Rochelle reported the swastika to school security on Thursday, March 14 though it was not clear when they were carved into the bathroom stall door. The incident is under investigation, police said. The latest incident comes approximately four months after a four-inch swastika was found at the New Rochelle High School, which prompted a police investigation. The swastika has since been removed. In response to the lates…

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by Zak Failla
Parsippany-Troy Hills, NJ
News
LAWSUIT: Madison Verizon Worker Says Colleagues Left Noose Of Wires Over Her Desk LAWSUIT: Madison Verizon Worker Says Colleagues Left Noose Of Wires Over Her Desk
Lawsuit: Madison Verizon Worker Says Colleagues Left Noose Of Wires Over Her Desk An African-American Verizon worker has filed a lawsuit against the company and her colleagues after she said she found a noose made of wires over her work area in Madison. Marisa Powell, 50, says her colleagues -- mostly comprised of white males -- had been harassing her for several months before she made the discovery in February, NJ.com reports. Powell, a 30-year Verizon employee and network technician, sought help from her supervisors and Verizon's human resources department repeatedly, and apparently futility, her attorney Robert R. Fuggi Jr. was quoted saying in the article. …

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by Cecilia Levine
Englewood, NJ
News
LAWSUIT: Medical Supply Worker Who Found Noose In Englewood Hospital Says He Was Targeted LAWSUIT: Medical Supply Worker Who Found Noose In Englewood Hospital Says He Was Targeted
Lawsuit: Medical Supply Worker Who Found Noose In Englewood Hospital Says He Was Targeted A 58-year-old Englewood Hospital worker says he was targeted in a bias crime after finding a noose in his workspace and is suing the hospital for negligence. Patrick O’Reilly, who is 58 and African-American, had been working in the hospital's medical supply department for nearly a decade before finding the 3-foot noose in 2017, NorthJersey.com reports. He filed a complaint last May alleging the hospital failed to protect him from discrimination and did not “observe and enforce rules regarding bullying and victimization of employees,” the report says. Englewood Hospital admit to r…

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by Cecilia Levine
Rutherford, NJ
News
LAWSUIT: Becton High School's First Female Sup't Alleging Gender Discrimination LAWSUIT: Becton High School's First Female Sup't Alleging Gender Discrimination
Lawsuit: Becton High School's First Female Sup't Alleging Gender Discrimination Henry P. Becton Regional High School's first female superintendent who last summer was placed on administrative leave has filed a gender discrimination suit against the district, the school board and its president. Louise Clarke -- who was quietly placed on administrative leave last October -- says that she was verbally abused and harassed for being a woman in the high-level role, NorthJersey.com reports. The suit -- in Superior Court earlier this month -- claims that district Business Administrator Nicholas Annitti of asking her if she was having sex with another emplo…

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by Cecilia Levine
Armonk, NY
News
Lawsuit Over Transgender Hostess' Firing At Westchester Applebee's Settled For $100K Lawsuit Over Transgender Hostess' Firing At Westchester Applebee's Settled For $100K
Lawsuit Over Transgender Hostess' Firing At Westchester Applebee's Settled For $100K The firing of a transgender employee at a Westchester Applebee’s over alleged sexual harassment has led to a $100,000 settlement following a lawsuit from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. A Title VII lawsuit was filed by the EEOC last year against Apple Metro Inc., which operates Applebee’s in Westchester, following the alleged incident, which happened to an employee in Hawthorne. Staff members allegedly made inappropriate comments about the employee’s transgender status, referring to her with male names and pronouns and making repeated offensive comments regarding her genitals. …

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by Zak Failla
Bergenfield, NJ
News
Former Dumont Employees Sue Borough, Councilman Former Dumont Employees Sue Borough, Councilman
Former Dumont Employees Sue Borough, Councilman A Dumont councilman and the borough itself are facing a lawsuit from four current or former municipal employees, NorthJersey.com reports. The suit was filed in Bergen County Superior Court earlier this month by David Corrigan and alleges political retaliation and discrimination, the article says. The four employees last year were penalized after an investigation into unauthorized overtime and are now claiming the borough's charges against them were false, according to NorthJersey.com. CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY.

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by Cecilia Levine
Englewood, NJ
Police & Fire
New NJ Civil Rights Director Rachel Wainer Apter Of Englewood Boasts Prestigious Law Record New NJ Civil Rights Director Rachel Wainer Apter Of Englewood Boasts Prestigious Law Record
New NJ Civil Rights Director Rachel Wainer Apter Of Englewood Boasts Prestigious Law Record Rachel Wainer Apter of Englewood already had a distinguished resume when New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal appointed her Thursday as the new director of the state Division on Civil Rights. Apter, 38, most recently has served as Grewal’s counsel on civil right and immigration – and led the New Jersey team that defeated a motion by Texas and seven other states to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). “This is a unique time for civil rights law in New Jersey,” Apter said. “While civil rights are under siege at the national level, the New Jersey legislature has been dram…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Mahwah-Ramsey, NJ
News
Mahwah Settles State Lawsuit Charging Township With Discriminating Against Orthodox Jews Mahwah Settles State Lawsuit Charging Township With Discriminating Against Orthodox Jews
Mahwah Settles State Lawsuit Charging Township With Discriminating Against Orthodox Jews Mahwah has settled a lawsuit brought by state authorities accusing the township of discriminating against Orthodox Jews primarily from Rockland County. A $350,000 payment from the town won’t have to be made if it can go four years without adopting any future ordinances “that impose similar, discriminatory restrictions,” Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said. Grewal's predecessor, Acting Attorney General Christopher Porrino, brought the suit last year after the Township Council adopted what his office said were two discriminatory ordinances -- one banning non-residents from using Mahwah’s p…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Paterson, NJ
Police & Fire
VIDEO: Black Clifton, Paterson Girls Chased From Jersey Shore Shop VIDEO: Black Clifton, Paterson Girls Chased From Jersey Shore Shop
Video: Black Clifton, Paterson Girls Chased From Jersey Shore Shop Video shows a Jersey Shore shopkeeper telling a group of young black girls from Clifton and Paterson that they weren’t welcome in the store, leaving their parents -- and the innocent children themselves -- all wondering what happens now. The employee who kicked out the girls was suspended Sunday amid an internal investigation that led to her being fired, a spokesperson for Jenkinson's Boardwalk said Tuesday. SEE: Employee Fired For Chasing Clifton, Paterson Girls From Jersey Shore Gift Shop The children are in a special all-girls summer camp that gives them “a safe place to adjust, to self…

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by Jerry DeMarco