In a February 19, 2015 New York State Court lawsuit, captioned Charles Schwarz v. Consolidated Edison, Inc. et al., plaintiff asserts that he was unlawfully terminated because of his decade-old conviction for perjury in connection with the notorious Abner Louima police brutality case.
Plaintiff alleges, among other things, that defendants terminated him from his position as a mechanic after a couple of weeks of employment, on the ground that his presence at the company would cause “potential disruption of business operations” and “damage to the [c]ompany’s reputation.”
He seeks recovery under NYS Human Rights Law § 296(15), NYC Human Rights Law § 8-107(10)(a), and NY Correction Law Article 23-A (§ 752).
The NYC Human Rights Law provides, in pertinent part:
It shall be unlawful discriminatory practice for any person to deny any license or permit or employment to any person by reason of his or her having been convicted of one or more criminal offenses, or by reason of a finding of a lack of “good moral character” which is based on his or her having been convicted of one or more criminal offenses, when such denial is in violation of the provisions of article twenty-three-a of the correction law. [NYC Admin. Code § 8-107(10)(a).]