Employment discrimination is a complex and dynamic area of law. New “protected classes” are regularly added to federal, state, and local civil rights laws. In addition, antidiscrimination law affects us all as job applicants, employees, supervisors, managers, and business owners. It is therefore critical to understand our rights and responsibilities under these statutes.
This course is particularly suitable to employment and litigation paralegals, since they play an important role in employment discrimination law. Under the supervision of attorneys, they may perform sophisticated tasks, such as interviewing clients alleging violations of the equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws, conducting investigations of job bias complaints, performing research on employment discrimination law issues, and drafting answers to discrimination complaints filed with human rights agencies and the courts.
This course is also helpful to those non-employment paralegals who may be called upon to participate in an EEO matter, and to those interested in learning more about the subject or possibly moving into the field.
Fundamentals of Employment Discrimination Law is tailored for individuals with some or little knowledge of the topic. A rudimentary familiarity with US law and government will be helpful to course participants
At the end of this course, participants will be familiar with the basics of EEO law, including: the two major categories of employment discrimination law, the major provisions of the federal antidiscrimination statutes, legal protections against retaliation for engaging in protected activity, and the federal discrimination complaint process (EEOC).
Course participants will receive handouts prepared by Mr. Matusewitch, including charts listing the major federal antidiscrimination laws and summarizing the federal discrimination complaint process. In preparation for this course, it is recommended that participants browse through Mack Player, Federal Law of Employment Discrimination in a Nutshell, 6th ed. (West, 2009), a good “plain English” introduction to the topic.
Eric Matusewitch teaches “Fundamentals of EEO Law” for the NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He was deputy director of the New York City Equal Employment Practices Commission from April 1995 to November 2008. From 1981 to 1991, he was assistant director of EEO for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (the country’s largest municipal hospital system), and from 1976 to 1980, he was an EEO specialist for the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
He is the author of The Manager’s Handbook on Employment Discrimination Law (Andrews Publications, 2000) and 152 articles on employment law for national, human resources, legal and paralegal publications. In addition Eric Matusewitch has given lectures on that topic for schools and organizations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Texas, Nevada and the District of Columbia.
Eric Matusewitch has been quoted in national and professional publications, including O: The Oprah Magazine, Fortune Small Business Magazine, New York Times, New York Observer, Chicago Tribune, Detroit News, Indianapolis Star, Christian Science Monitor, News Journal (Wilmington, DE), Knoxville News Sentinel, Patriot-News (Harrisburg, PA), ABCNews.com, and CNNMoney.com on employment discrimination law issues, and appeared as a guest expert on the Montel Williams Television Show. He also received the Affirmative Action Award from the New York City Department of Health in 1987.
His educational credentials include a master’s degree in political science from the City College of New York, a master’s degree in library science from Columbia University, and a certificate in paralegal studies from George Washington University (Washington, D.C.). Eric Matusewitch is a 1999 graduate of the New York City Leadership Institute (the City government’s premier executive development program) and is certified as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) by the Human Resource Certification Institute, and an Affirmative Action Professional (CAAP) by the American Association for Affirmative Action.
Eric Matusewitch is a member of the Advisory Boards of the Berkeley College Paralegal Studies Program and the New York City Paralegal Association. He is also a member of the Society for Human Resource Management, Human Resources Association of New York, American Association for Affirmative Action, National Association of Legal Assistants, New York City Paralegal Association, and Law Library Association of Greater New York.