February 2017

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In Lorber v. Jacob Lew, No. 15-cv-9995, 2017 WL 633446 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 15, 2017) (J. Kimba M. Wood), the court dismissed (for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)) plaintiff’s gender-based hostile work environment claim, but stayed its decision on defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Title VII sexual orientation discrimination claim (which…

Read More SDNY Dismisses Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim; Stays Ruling on Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination (Stereotyping) Claim Pending Second Circuit Rulings
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In Arifi v. Cent. Moving & Storage Co., No. 159334/12, 2017 WL 628321 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 16, 2017), the court affirmed the lower court’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s age discrimination claims. From the decision: In moving for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s claims for age-based employment discrimination under…

Read More Age Discrimination Claims Properly Dismissed; Suspicion of Theft Was a Legitimate, Nondiscriminatory, Non-Pretextual Reason for Termination
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In Prophete-Camille v. Stericycle, Inc., No. 14-CV-7268(JS)(AKT), 2017 WL 570769 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 13, 2017), the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sexual harassment/hostile work environment claim. With respect to the issue of whether the workplace was sufficiently “hostile”, the court explained: The Court finds that Plaintiff has raised issues of fact on her…

Read More Sexual Harassment (Hostile Work Environment) Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Sexual Comments and References to Sexual Acts, Sexual Relationship
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In Ruiz v. Lenox Hill Hosp., No. 160377/15, 2017 WL 213802 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 19, 2017), the First Department affirmed (in part) a lower court’s decision addressing plaintiff’s claims under New York’s general and health-care whistleblower laws (N.Y. Labor Law §§ 740 and 741) Here are plaintiff’s allegations, as summarized by the court:…

Read More Surgeon’s Whistleblower Claim Survives Dismissal
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Happy Valentine’s Day! While this holiday of (ahem) love may bring back fond memories of grade-school card and candy swapping, it’s important to remember that bringing romance into the workplace – even (or maybe especially) on Valentine’s Day – presents risks, most notably of a sexual harassment/hostile work environment lawsuit. Consider, for example, the case of Pugni…

Read More Valentine’s Day and the Workplace
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In In the Matter of Shannon Scheuneman v. NYS Div. of Human Rights and Town of Tonawanda, No. TP 16-00820, 2017 WL 539266 (N.Y. App. Div. 4th Dept. Feb. 10, 2017), the Appellate Division unanimously confirmed, under N.Y. Executive Law § 298, a determination by the New York State Division of Human Rights that the…

Read More Allegation of “Anti-Female Bias” Insufficient to Overturn State Division of Human Rights Dismissal of Gender Discrimination Claim
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In Chernov v. Securities Training Corp., 2017 NY Slip Op 00126 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 10, 2017), an employment (disability) discrimination case, the Appellate Division, First Department unanimously reversed a lower court’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint. From the decision: Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff, the…

Read More Disability Discrimination Claims Revived in Light of Fact Issues as to Whether Employer Should Have Known of Disabling Anxiety Condition
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In Ciulla-Noto v. Xerox Corp., No. 16-CV-6362-FPG, 2017 WL 491688 (W.D.N.Y. Feb. 7, 2017), the court dismissed plaintiff’s retaliation claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. In sum, plaintiff filed an EEOC charge alleging disability and gender discrimination. About a year later, plaintiff was involved in an altercation with…

Read More Court Dismisses Retaliation Claim; Termination Closely Followed Plaintiff’s Involvement in Altercation at Work
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In Sheng v. M&TBank Corp., No. 14-4467-CV, 2017 WL 443641 (2d Cir. Feb. 2, 2017), a pregnancy discrimination case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the defendant/employer’s offer to reinstate the plaintiff/employee was conditioned on plaintiff dropping her lawsuit, and was therefore inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 408. In…

Read More 2d Circuit: Reinstatement Offer Conditioned on Foregoing Pregnancy Discrimination Case Should Have Been Excluded; Defense Verdict Overturned
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