Discrimination, Retaliation, Hostile Work Environment Claims Properly Dismissed Against Sunglass Hut

In Venezia v. Luxottica Retail North America, Inc., Sunglass Hut Trading, LLC, 2017 WL 4772437 (2d Cir. Oct. 23, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court’s summary judgment dismissal^[1]Venezia v. Luxoticca Retail North America Inc., 13-cv-4467, 2015 WL 5692146 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2015) of plaintiff’s employment discrimination claims.

Plaintiff, a white male, alleged (inter alia) that “he was fired when he refused to comply with a demand that he hire only attractive, white applicants; he was denied permission to take Sundays off for church; he was disciplined in retaliation for complaining about allegedly discriminatory hiring practices; [and] he was subjected to a hostile work environment.”

In affirming the dismissal, the court explained (inter alia) that plaintiff “failed to offer sufficient evidence of pretext to overcome LRNA’s legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for terminating him, namely that he had abused the company’s discount code program.”