Thank you for visiting the Pospis Law Blog (the “Blog”), maintained by Pospis Law, PLLC (the “Firm”). The Blog primarily provides general information regarding legal developments in the areas of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, civil rights, and personal injury. This website’s general disclaimer (which is incorporated by reference) likewise applies to the Blog. 1. Not…
Read More Sticky: About This Blog; DisclaimerIn Serrano v. The City of New York, No. 2023-05750, 2095, 810438/22, 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 02156, 2024 WL 1723814 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept., Apr. 23, 2024), the Appellate Division, First Department reversed a lower court’s order granting defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claims of race discrimination asserted under the New York State and City Human…
Read More First Department Revives Race Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment ClaimsIn Light v. Pepperidge Farm, Inc., 2024 WL 1703714 (N.D.Tex. April 19, 2024), the court dismissed plaintiff’s negligence claim with prejudice, holding that said claim was preempted by federal law – namely, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court explained that “[a] state law claim is preempted by a federal statute…
Read More Title VII Preempts Negligence Claim, Court HoldsIn Counterman v. Colorado, 143 S.Ct. 2106, 2113–14, 600 U.S. 66 (U.S. 2023), the U.S. Supreme Court discussed the “true threat” exception to First Amendment free speech protection – specifically, the mental state that the state must demonstrate that the defendant had. The Court summarized the black-letter law as follows: From 1791 to the present,”…
Read More U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Mental State Required for “True Threat” First Amendment ExceptionIn Maryam v. LSG Sky Chefs, No. 1:23-cv-914-SDG, 2024 WL 1195535 (N.D.Ga. March 20, 2024), the court held that plaintiff pled sufficient facts to support a sex discrimination claim, based on a tangible employment action harassment theory, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the decision: Sexual harassment in…
Read More Title VII Tangible Action Sexual Harassment Claim Sufficiently Alleged, Court HoldsIn Latif v. The City of New York et al, 20 Civ. 8248 (AT), 2024 WL 1348827 (S.D.N.Y. March 28, 2024), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim of hostile work environment under the New York City Human Rights Law. Among other things, the plaintiff “alleges that she was the target…
Read More Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleges Race Discrimination Under City, But Not Federal or State, Law, Court HoldsIn Howard v. State of Arizona et al, 2024 WL 1619400 (D.Ariz. April 15, 2024), the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s hostile work environment asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the decision: Title VII is not meant as “a general civility code” and “sporadic use of abusive…
Read More Title VII Race/Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment Claims Dismissed; Single Incident Held InsufficientIn Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Missouri, 2024 WL 1642826 (U.S. April 17, 2024), the U.S. Supreme Court (in an opinion authored by Justice Kagan) held that, in the context of a claim of discrimination in a form of a transfer (here, because of the plaintiff’s sex) in violation of Title VII of the…
Read More U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Standard For Title VII Discriminatory Transfer ClaimsIn Defranco v. New York Power Authority, 20-CV-1861-LJV, 2024 WL 1621533 (W.D.N.Y. April 15, 2024), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s disability (hearing impairment) based hostile work environment asserted under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the New York State Human Rights Law. From the decision: This Court finds that the…
Read More Hearing Impairment-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives DismissalIn Mayorga v. Diet Center LLC d/b/a Heart Attack Grill, 2024 WL 1574362 (9th Cir. April 11, 2024), the court affirmed the lower court’s award of summary judgment on plaintiff’s employment discrimination claim asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the decision: Even though the First Amended Complaint (“FAC”) alleges…
Read More Title VII Hostile Work Environment and Constructive Discharge Claims Properly Dismissed, Ninth Circuit HoldsIn Argoti v. Equinox Holdings, Inc., No. 152903/2019, 2024 WL 1599371 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Apr. 10, 2024), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment seeking dismissal of plaintiff’s claim of discrimination based on plaintiff’s disability and domestic violence status asserted under the New York City Human Rights Law. From…
Read More Domestic Violence Victim Status Discrimination Claim Against Equinox Survives Summary Judgment