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Southern District of New York (SDNY) Leads Country in Employment Discrimination Claims
Employers must comply with state and federal laws and provide employees with fair workplaces free of discrimination. When they fail to do so, employees can and should take them to court in pursuit of lost wages, reinstatement, and punitive damages. This scenario is especially frequent in the Southern District of New York (SDNY), which sees the most employment lawsuits in the country.
If you've faced workplace and hiring discrimination, an experienced employment lawyer can help. At the law firm of Console & Associates, P.C., you'll find a dedicated team who are committed to helping average people hold big corporations accountable. Reach out to a lawyer today to start building your case and pursuing justice.
SDNY Leads the U.S. in Employment Discrimination
The eight counties of SDNY have a population exceeding 3 million, so you'd expect them to have a large number of employment disputes. However, New York's Southern District Federal Court received a widely disproportionate level of employment litigation from 2020 to 2022. Despite representing less than 1% of the nation's population, SDNY is the site of 6% of all employee-employer lawsuits in America.
This information comes from Lex Machina's 2023 Employment Litigation Report, which also compiled other insights related to employment lawsuits. These include the most frequent causes of lawsuits, as well as the most-sued companies.
Most Common Employment Litigation Claims
Employees benefit from a wide range of protections, including safeguards against discrimination and fair compensation practices. As detailed in the 2023 Employment Litigation Report by Lex Machina, the most frequently occurring employment law claims between 2020 and 2022 were:
Title VII Discrimination: This provision of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin.
Hostile Work Environment: A HWE claim alleges that an employer violated Title VII not by refusing to hire them, but by engaging in or enabling severe workplace hostility against them.
Retaliation: An employer who punishes employees for engaging in protected activities is guilty of retaliation. Employers often retaliate against employees for reporting or refusing to take part in discriminatory activities.
Companies That Face the Most Employment Litigation
According to Lex Machina's study, the four most-sued companies in the United States are:
Walmart Inc.
United Parcel Service (UPS)
Amazon Services LLC
Lowe's Home Centers
Walmart and Amazon are both massive employers, so it's predictable for them to end up on this list. However, the extent to which Wal-Mart draws the ire of its employees is surprising. Despite having only 30% more employees than Amazon, it experiences more than three times as many employment lawsuits.
Another surprise was Lowe's Home Centers showing up in the fourth place spot on the list. It only has 300,000 employees, next to Amazon's 1.5 million. Despite this, both of these companies received around 200 employment lawsuits from 2020 to 2023.
Call an Employment Discrimination Lawyer
But whether your employer is an international corporation or a family business, your rights remain the same. If you believe you've experienced employment discrimination, workplace harassment, or retaliation for reporting allegations, you can pursue legal action. For your best shot at justice, reach out to experienced legal counsel such as the law firm of Console & Associates, P.C. at 866-778-5500.
