Pro Bono Counsel needed to assist former superintendent and victim of disability discrimination facing eviction.

The Legal Aid Society represents a former superintendent of an apartment building in the Bronx. He worked as a superintendent for a year and a half, and as part of his compensation, lived in a basement apartment in the building with his wife and three young children. In February 2018, he was seriously injured on the job, and filed a claim with the Worker’s Compensation Board. As a result of his injury, he needed to have surgery which he underwent in May 2018 but continued working for several months prior to the operation. Initially, his employer agreed to temporarily hire another superintendent while our client recovered from surgery, as a reasonable accommodation, but the employer fired our client instead.

Our client has a claim for disability discrimination in violation of New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws. We are seeking pro bono counsel to file and litigate an action in Supreme Court alleging disability discrimination. However, due to his loss of employment, our client and his family are also facing eviction. His housing case is on for trial on December 21, 2018. Because of this, the discrimination action needs to be filed in State Court prior to this date. Pro bono counsel is also needed to file an Order to Show Cause seeking a stay of the client’s eviction proceedings in Supreme Court.