In Kulaya v. Dunbar Armored, Inc., the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed summary judgment for defendant on plaintiff’s disability discrimination claim under the New York State Human Rights Law.
It recited the legal standard:
To state a prima facie case of employment discrimination due to a disability under [the New York State Human Rights Law, codified at] Executive Law § 296, a plaintiff must show that he or she suffers from a disability and that the disability engendered the behavior for which he or she was discriminated against in the terms, conditions, or privileges of his or her employment. If the plaintiff succeeds in establishing a prima facie case, the burden of proof shifts to the employer to demonstrate that the disability prevented the employee from performing the duties of the job in a reasonable manner or that the employer’s action was motivated by legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons. If the employer establishes that it had valid nondiscriminatory reasons for its action, the burden shifts back to the plaintiff to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the stated reasons were pretextual.
Defendant prevailed in this case because it demonstrated “legitimate, independent, and nondiscriminatory reasons for its employment decision,” which plaintiff was unable to show were pretextual:
Specifically, the plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether there remained a full-time, light-duty position available after the defendant’s relocation to a larger facility. Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly awarded summary judgment dismissing the cause of action alleging employment discrimination on the basis of disability.