In Suskin v. Oehl, No. 153635/2022, 2022 WL 17581514 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Dec. 08, 2022), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim of age discrimination asserted under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws.
From the decision:
To state a claim for age discrimination under both the NYCHRL and the NYSHRL, a plaintiff must allege that (1) he is a member of a protected class, (2) he was qualified to hold the position, (3) he was terminated from employment or suffered another adverse employment action, and (4) the discharge or adverse action took place under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination. NYCHRL claims must be construed liberally in order to fulfill the city law’s uniquely broad and remedial purposes. The NYSHRL was amended in 2019 to include such language similar to that of the NYCHRL. [Citations omitted.]
Here, the parties dispute only the fourth element under these claims. Applying the law, the court held that “[a]t this stage, plaintiff’s allegation that his job responsibilities were transferred to an employee approximately 20 years his junior is sufficient to support an inference that the removal of his responsibilities and ultimately his termination were due to his age.” [Citations and internal quotation marks omitted.]