How One Text Message Can Violate NYS Human Rights Law and Close Your Business Down

As I continue to reiterate during NYS Mandated Annual Workplace Harassment Prevention sessions that I conduct, everyone can be recorded everywhere – including but not limited to by security cameras and the portable t.v. stations (smartphones) that everyone carries.

For some reason, some people labor under the mistaken impression that the text messages they send to other people evaporate into the ether. They don’t. And if you text a message that violates NYS Human Rights Law and EEOC regulations, it’s not a private message at all – it can go public / viral in a flash:

“I don’t hire black people” wasn’t even the worst part of the message – I’ve edited out the racial slurs from the text message that preceded “I don’t hire black people” allegedly sent out by the business owner. This text message instantly went viral over a number of social media channels, resulting not only in a protest shutting down the business, but also attention from the county district attorney and the NYS Attorney General’s office, who fully intend on taking legal action against the business owner for workplace racial discrimination in violation of NYS and federal civil rights laws and regulations:

Bumpy’s employees walk out amid protest against alleged racist operator

SCHENECTADY – More than 200 people gathered on Sunday outside Bumpy’s Polar Freeze, a…

From a follow-up article the next day: By Friday, Gardner had asked the state attorney general’s office to conduct an immediate civil rights investigation into Elmendorf’s “discriminatory and illegal actions.”

All caused by one ignorant and illegal text message.