Lab With Bias Suit Focus Of Bayside Pol's Call For Investigation

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A Bayside State Senator is calling on state officials to investigate a lab firm that allegedly discriminated against Chinese employees, according to a new report.

Six Chinese phlebotomists at BioReference Laboratories are suing their employer over claims of pay inequity, unequal treatment, and inhumane treatment, including instances that took place during the height of the pandemic, according to a report by The City.

The day after the article was published, The City reported that Queens State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky wrote to Attorney General Letitia James and State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli requesting that the officials review BioReference's employment practices and government contracts, which amount to tens of millions of dollars.

“On BioReference’s website, they list a detailed code of conduct and business ethics that they are clearly ignoring,” said Stavisky in a statement reported by The City. “We should not be conducting business with a company that fails to treat their employees equally and fairly.”

Although the company's Code of Conduct and Business Ethics prohibits unethical behavior and harassment, the women in The City's story reported that they were paid less than non-Chinese co-workers, were treated inhumanely, and had to test COVID-19 patients without sufficient safety protections.

Supervising attorney with the Employment Law Unit at the Legal Aid Society, Carmela Huang, told The City that she supports Stavisky's investigation request.

“No New Yorker should have to suffer from this kind of racism at work — especially by companies that contract with New York State,” Huang told The City.

As Stavisky pointed out in her letter to the state officials, BioReference has millions of dollars in government contracts with New York City and State, including two $56 million-plus contracts with the city's Department of Corrections, and a $73,000 contract with the FDNY.

BioReference, James, and DiNapoli all did not respond to The City's request for comment.