2d Circuit: Hostile Work Environment Properly Dismissed; Rudeness, Noise, Throwing Papers Held Insufficient

In Rasko v. N.Y.C. Admin. for Children’s Servs., 17-967 (2d Cir. May 17, 2018) (Summary Order), the court, inter alia, affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim.

The court explained the legal requirements for such a claim:

To establish a hostile work environment claim, a plaintiff must show, inter alia, that the workplace was permeated with discriminatory intimidation that was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of his or her work environment. … A [p]laintiff must show not only that she subjectively perceived the environment to be abusive, but also that the environment was objectively hostile and abusive. … Minor workplace conflicts do not rise to the level of an objectively hostile workplace.

Here, plaintiff “asserted only that [plaintiff’s co-worker] was rude, threw documents on top of documents that Rasko was working on, and made noise (e.g., snoring, talking on the phone, etc.).”

The court held that “[t]his type of irritation does not rise to the level of an objectively hostile workplace.”

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