PN Successfully Defends Bakery Against Charge of Discrimination at City Commission on Human Rights | Day In The Life

PARALEGAL-IN-CHARGE: Pandeli Mano

Backstory:

A bakery in Astoria hired a Tony as a dishwasher in 1997. He had no experience as a baker at the time and was taught by the owner and the skilled staff how to create Italian desserts. 

Eventually, the dishwasher rose to become baker-in charge of the cakes at the bakery. 

Sadly, in 2015, Tony started drinking heavily. Soon, he started drinking on the job, and he was often physically unstable and would fall asleep at the job.

Tony was unable to bake the ordered cakes properly and he added wrong the ingredients, and the quality of the baked goods deteriorated. Customers would complain about these orders and the bakery was forced to refund money several times. 

What Happened:

On January 2, 2017, Tony's boss found lying drunk in the freezer of the bakery. On January 6, 2017, Tony was asked not to return to work. 

Tony filed a charge of discrimination with the NYC Commission on Human Rights against the bakery alleging that he was fired because of discrimination.

How We Helped:

Pandeli Mano, a long-time member of PN's professional staff, put together documentation for our attorneys showing that Tony never complained of any alleged discriminatory conduct by anyone at the bakery since 1997. 

Pandeli submitted letters from the bakery's staff, which was made up of a diverse mix of ethnicities, and provided the Commission with a list of former staff members -- all of them related to the Commission's investigator's that the bakery was a professional environment where anyone, with no regard to race, religion, national origin or sex, could start out as a dishwasher and rise to the level of a master baker.

The Decision:

Pandeli was happy to report to the bakery that the Commission has closed their file. 

Thank you from the bakery, Pandeli, and from your firm for a job well done.