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- Jessica Massimi
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Jessica Massimi is a New York City civil rights attorney focusing on employment discrimination cases that arise out of violations of the New York City Human Rights Law, the New York State Human Rights Law, Title VII, § 1981, Americans with Disabilities Act, and Family Medical Leave Act.
Some of the cases that Jessica handles include those based on sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, and disability discrimination. Jessica can assist workers with claims based on Title VII. This is an anti-discrimination law that protects employees of employers with at least 15 employees from being subjected to adverse treatment based on certain protected traits, which include sex, race, national origin, and religion. Adverse treatment is defined broadly and can include actions such as termination, demotion, or a failure to promote an employee when a similarly situated employee without the protected trait is promoted. For example, an employer cannot withhold a promotion from a woman who has performed just as well as a man whom the employer promotes, just because the employee is a woman. If your employer is too small to be covered by Title VII, you can potentially bring a claim under the New York City Human Rights Law, which provides similar protections to employers with four or more employees.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency that is responsible for enforcing Title VII. Before you bring a discrimination claim, you must go through the process of filing a charge with the EEOC. There are strict time limits for filing your complaint, so it is best to consult an attorney right away. If you prevail in your claim against your employer, some of the available remedies may include compensatory damages, punitive damages, reinstatement, and attorneys' fees and costs.
Jessica also has tremendous experience litigating police misconduct cases against the City of New York and the New York City Police Department. Jessica believes strongly in protecting the constitutional and civil rights of New York City residents.
Jessica has a long-standing commitment to civil rights. Following her law school graduation, Jessica worked as an associate at two different New York firms, where she gained substantial experience in civil rights litigation, particularly excessive force cases involving severe injuries, false arrest, malicious prosecution, denial of fair trial, and wrongful conviction. Collectively, Jessica has managed and aggressively advanced more than 175 cases with multiple plaintiffs, taking them through initial conferences, depositions, discovery disputes, settlement conferences, fee motions, dispositive motions, and trial.
Jessica was voted a Super Lawyer rising star in the area of civil rights litigation from 2016-2018. She is a proud member of the National Police Accountability Project. Jessica is also the Chair of the Civil Rights Section of the Southern District of New York chapter of the Federal Bar Association
Jessica is admitted to the bar in New York State and the United States District Courts for Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York. She has substantial experience litigating cases in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and elsewhere in New York City.
When the police overstep their authority and use excessive force while making an arrest or investigating a crime, the result can be serious injuries, permanent disability, or even a wrongful death. Excessive force means that a police officer used more force than necessary to carry out law enforcement duties. Excessive force may include police shootings, beating or slamming someone down so hard that a serious injury occurs, using a stun gun repeatedly, chemical agents and pepper spray, or using a chokehold.
The standard for excessive force is what amount of force would be used by a reasonable law enforcement officer under the same circumstances. If excessive force is found, this can lead to both criminal and civil charges brought under the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. A civil suit may be brought against the individual police officer as well as the City of New York.
Just as police must respect the rights of citizens, employers must respect the rights of workers to be free from discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Multiple federal laws are aimed at eliminating workplace discrimination and harassment on the basis of race, gender, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability, religion, or sexual orientation. In addition to the rights provided by federal laws, rights associated with additional protected characteristics are granted to workers in New York City and State.
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