Know Your Rights in NYC

New York City has one of the strongest anti-discrimination laws in the nation. The law protects you as a worker from facing unfair treatment from your employer. The law prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, age, gender, national origin or immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, pregnancy, body weight and height, military service, marital status, partnership status, unemployment status, arrest or conviction record, credit history, caregiver status, and status as a victim of domestic violence, stalking and sex offenses. If you suspect that your employer or future employer is discriminating against you, contact us for help.

Until early 2023, it was legal to discriminate against people based on their body size in employment, housing, and public accommodations. RAP, along with a coalition of advocates, fought to end discrimination based on height and weight. Our Campaign for Size Freedom in NYC, changed NYC’s Human Rights Law and added height and weight as a protected class, ensuring that workers will be judged by who they are and the quality of their work, not by their body size.

Federal Law protects workers’ right to collectively speak up for their rights and organize without fear of retaliation from their employers. Under Federal Law, workers have the right to discuss work conditions with co-workers at work, discuss wages with co-workers, media outlets and even on social media, look into and share information on worker organizing, and form a union with your co-workers. This includes speaking to the media about your work conditions or even joining a worker center like the Retail Action Project.

Workers in New York State are entitled sick days by law. If you live in New York City, the New York City Earned Safe & Sick Time Act gives workers the right to time off, without losing your job, if you need to recover from physical/mental illness or injury; seek medical diagnosis, treatment, or preventative care; or care for a family member who is ill or needs medical diagnosis, treatment, or preventative care. The amount of paid sick time you can use depends on the size of your employer.

In NYC, thanks to RAP members’ advocacy, retail workers have the right to predictable schedules. That means retail workers cannot be asked to be on-call or accept last-minute changes to their schedule. Employers must post and set schedules with at least 72 hours’ notice and cannot make any changes to the schedule after that without your consent.

Wage theft is the withholding or denial of compensation lawfully owed to a worker. Wage theft is against the law and can take many forms, such as an employee being paid below minimum wage, not being paid for sick time, or not being paid overtime. You have the right to recover unpaid wages, even if it happened three years ago. If you’ve had your wages stolen, reach out to us to learn more about your options for recovering your wages.

Under Federal Law, every worker has the right to a safe workplace. In New York State, the NY HERO Act, requires employers with at least ten employees to allow workers to form joint labor-management health and safety committees, which creates the space for workers learn more about health and safety and help create a safer workplace. To learn how to start a committee, reach out to us.