Legal Question in Discrimination Law in New York
I am employed full time as an Investigator and recently i applied to work part time at a major retail well known Pharmacy in New York. I use to work at this pharmacy before and left in good terms but unfortunately during the economics struggle of today I need to re-apply. The management of the Pharamacy knows what I do FT in my day job and they told me that they will re-hire me but they need me to privately tape / spy on a current employee that is stealing company time from them while working for another business at the same time. I was told once I can coduct and come up with proof for them that they will work on my paper work to be processs for rehiring. I told them it was not possible and it was illegal. After saying that i was not hired and was giving excuses of hiring freezes. My question to you is do i have a legitmate law suit for discrimination or anything? I have the name of the employee they wanted me to conduct surveillance on and the alledged work location supposedley he is working at when he is supposed to be working at the Pharmacy.
1 Answer from Attorneys
What they appear to want to do is illegal according to labor laws but it does not seem like dicrimination. I wonder if the workers at the local store in the chain even have the authority to hire a private investigator? From the outside, it seems like they are just jerks trying to get a free private investigator (and not just someone who stands at the door-like paying for a cubic zirconia and getting a diamond, then showing off/having you do an outside surveillance).
It would also be a bad thing, as well as illegal for them and you, for you to do this "off the books" (and they are not even paying you, it seems, just that you are "earning" your right to apply and have your paperwork processed). If something bad happens during the surveillance, they can argue "we did not employ him-look-check the books, the time cards, etc." and you would be hung out to dry. Also, regardless of all this, if everything DOES go OK, you catch him red-handed, and he loses his job at the phramacy (and maybe the pharmacy mgr will call his other job spitefully), he will be mad as heck, and guess who might be out there in front of the pharmacy as a target? No Worker's Comp, maybe no health insurance, not that it will help much if he shoots well, etc.
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