In a lawsuit filed on May 6, 2015 in the Supreme Court of the State of New York and captioned Hayblum v. Life Alert Emergency Response, Inc. et al, plaintiff alleges that his former employer – the company known for its “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” advertisements – subjected him to employment discrimination and retaliation under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws.
From the complaint (full version below):
5. … Mr. Hayblum repeatedly raised concerns about the Company’s misclassification of its sales representatives as independent contractors rather than employees. Mr. Hayblum also repeatedly raised concerns about sexual harassment that was rampant in Life Alert’s Manhattan office, including the sexual harassment of his own wife by the general manager of the Manhattan office, Defendant Gonen. In addition, Mr. Hayblum, who was over seventy years old at the time, revealed to Defendant Gonen that he had prostate cancer and would require treatment.
6. Life Alert and its executives struck back. Because of Mr. Hayblum’s advanced age and disability, and in retaliation for his reports about the Company’s illegal employment practices, on November 10, 2014, with no advance notice and no explanation, Defendants terminated Mr. Hayblum-effective immediately-after twelve years of service. …
Plaintiff asserts various causes of action, including breach of contract, age discrimination, disability discrimination, and retaliation.