New York Extends Antidiscrimination Protections to Interns: Employment Law Manual Updated

Authors: Beth P. Zoller, Marta Moakley, Melissa A. Silver and David B. Weisenfeld, XpertHR Legal Editors

New York has passed a law, effective July 22, prohibiting employers from discriminating against, retaliating against or harassing an unpaid intern based on age, creed, race, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, disability, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, conviction record and predisposing genetic characteristics. The new law also prohibits an employer from expressing any discriminatory limitations or specifications based on a protected category when advertising for an internship. Additionally, an employer may not compel a pregnant intern to take a leave of absence unless the pregnancy prevents her from performing the activities involved in her job or occupation in a reasonable manner.

Based on this development, the New York EEO - Discrimination, EEO - Retaliation, EEO-Harassment, Performance Appraisals, Terms of Employment, Employee Discipline and Interviewing and Selecting Job Candidates sections of the Employment Law Manual have been amended.