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Sticky: About This Blog; Disclaimer

December 26, 2015

Thank you for visiting the Pospis Law Blog (the “Blog”), maintained by Pospis Law, PLLC (the “Firm”). The Blog primarily provides general information regarding developments in the New York law in our primary practice areas of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal injury. In addition to our general website disclaimer (which is incorporated by reference), the following […]

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Hostile Work Environment Claim Not Alleged; Discrete Incident of Discrimination Relating to Denial of Tenure Not Enough

September 17, 2017

In Yang Zhao v. Keuka College, 2017 WL 3917145 (W.D.N.Y., 2017), plaintiff – a U.S. Citizen of Chinese origin – alleged that she was denied tenure because of her ethnicity, race, and national origin. The court held that plaintiff did not sufficiently allege a hostile work environment claim: Plaintiff has not alleged a hostile work […]

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Court Upholds Jury Verdict in Cuban Professor’s Favor on Employment Discrimination Claims

September 16, 2017

In Arcos v. New School University, 2017 WL 3868495, at *7 (S.D.N.Y., 2017), the court upheld a jury verdict that plaintiff was subjected to discrimination based on his race and national origin (Cuban/Hispanic) under Title VII, § 1981, the NYSHRL, and the NYCHRL. In sum, plaintiff – a Cuban-born Hispanic man – was a faculty member at […]

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Failure to Accommodate Disability (Macular Degeneration) Claim Survives Summary Judgment

September 15, 2017

In Allen v. A.R.E.B.A. Casriel, Inc., 2017 WL 4046127 (S.D.N.Y., 2017), the court held that plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate-disability claim survived summary judgment.[1]The court dismissed, however, plaintiff’s claims of age and race discrimination. From the decision: Defendants concede that Plaintiff was disabled and that ACI was aware of Plaintiff’s macular degeneration. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 25). Defendants argue they […]

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Title VII Race Discrimination Claim Dismissed; Court Cites Lack of Alleged Racial Comments or Favorable Treatment of “Similarly Situated” Caucasian Employees

September 14, 2017

In Butterfield-Bajinan v. City of New York, 2017 WL 4045175 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 11, 2017), the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Title VII race discrimination claim as insufficiently alleged. The court explained what a plaintiff asserting such a claim must allege: To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint alleging employment discrimination under Title […]

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Chinese Professor Plausibly Alleges Intentional Discrimination Under 42 U.S.C. 1981; May Amend Complaint

September 13, 2017

In Yang Zhao v. Keuka College, 2017 WL 3917145 (W.D.N.Y., 2017), plaintiff – a U.S. Citizen of Chinese origin – alleges that she was denied tenure because of her ethnicity, race, and national origin. The court granted plaintiff’s motion to amend her complaint to add a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, finding that plaintiff […]

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Whistleblower (NY Labor Law § 741) Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment; OPMC Rulings Did Not Operate as Collateral Estoppel

September 12, 2017

In Mehulic v. New York Downtown Hosp., 2017 NY Slip Op 06416 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Sept. 12, 2017), the court reversed the trial court’s Order granting defendant summary judgment on plaintiff’s retaliation claim under Labor Law § 741 on the ground of collateral estoppel. From the decision: However, the motion court erred in finding that plaintiff’s […]

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Rejecting a Supervisor’s Sexual Advances is “Protected Activity” For Purposes of a Retaliation Claim, Court Holds

September 11, 2017

In VIOLENE PERCY, Plaintiff, v. THE STATE OF NEW YORK (HUDSON VALLEY DDSO), LOCAL 412 OF THE CSEA, INC., LOCAL 1000, AFSCME AFL-CIO, and BASIL TOWNSEND, Defendants., 2017 WL 3973987, at *7 (S.D.N.Y., 2017), the court explained: Courts are split on the question of whether rejecting unwanted sexual advances constitutes protected activity. See Little, 210 […]

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2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Employment Discrimination Claims as Untimely; Rejects “Motive Discovery” Rule

September 10, 2017

In Seck v. Information Management Network, 2017 WL 3879683 (2d Cir. Sept. 6, 2017) (Summary Order), the court reiterated the rule that “[a] cause of action for employment discrimination accrues from the moment of the discrete act constituting an unlawful employment practice, not from when the discriminatory motive is discovered.” Applying the law, the court held: […]

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Complaint Fails to State Title VII, ADA Claim Based on (Unspecified) Race, Criminal Conviction, or Drug Test

September 9, 2017

From McClarence v. International Union of Operating Engineers Local Union, 2017 WL 3887883, at *2 (E.D.N.Y., 2017): In this case, McClarence’s complaint fails to state a claim under Title VII. McClarence has asserted a bare-bones claim that he was discriminated against on the basis of race or color, but has not identified himself as a […]

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Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives Summary Judgment Against NYC Health & Hospitals Corp.

September 8, 2017

From James v. NYC Health & Hospitals Corp. et al, 2017 WL 3923675 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 6, 2017): Defendants argue that Waiters’s alleged conduct was not sufficiently severe or pervasive as a matter of law. See Def. Br. at 12 (claiming conduct “lacks any semblance of concreteness, vulgarity or even obscenity”). That evidence, however, is sufficient […]

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