July 2017

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From McLeod v. Jewish Guild for the Blind, No. 15-2898-CV, 2017 WL 3044626 (2d Cir. July 19, 2017): Here, had the district court considered McLeod’s handwritten factual allegations alone, it would have been required to construe McLeod as having asserted claims under the NYSHRL and NYCHRL.1 McLeod’s allegations clearly suggest claims under the NYSHRL and NYCHRL,…

Read More 2d Circuit Vacates Dismissal of Sexual Harassment Claims Under New York State and City Human Rights Laws; Pro Se Plaintiff’s Failure to Check Boxes Not Fatal
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In Woods v. START Treatment & Recovery Centers, Inc., No. 16-1318-CV, 2017 WL 3044628 (2d Cir. July 19, 2017), the Second Circuit clarified the causation standard for retaliation claims brought under the Family & Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA). One FMLA regulation, 29 C.F.R. 825.220(c), provides: The Act’s prohibition against interference prohibits an employer…

Read More 2d Circuit Adopts “Negative Factor”, Rather Than “But For”, Causation Standard For FMLA Retaliation Claims
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In Kleinman v. Fashion Institute of Technology, No. 16 CIV. 4348 (KPF), 2017 WL 3016940 (S.D.N.Y. July 14, 2017) (J. Failla), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Initially, the court noted that while the “Second Circuit has not yet decided whether a hostile work environment…

Read More Court Dismisses ADA Hostile Work Environment Claim Against FIT
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In Vaughn v. Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway et al, No. 14-CV-10297 (KMK), 2017 WL 3017503 (S.D.N.Y. July 14, 2017), the court (inter alia) denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim that he was subjected to discrimination – by being terminated and suspended – because of his race, in violation of Title VII…

Read More Race Discrimination Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Supervisor’s Use of the “N-Word” and Favorable Treatment of White Co-Worker
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In Fratello v. Archdiocese of New York, St. Anthony’s Shrine Church, and St. Anthony’s School, No. 16-1271, 2017 WL 2989706 (2d Cir. July 14, 2017), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the Title VII gender discrimination and retaliation claims brought by plaintiff, a former Roman Catholic school principal, under the “ministerial exception”. The Second Circuit, addressing…

Read More 2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Roman Catholic School Principal’s Gender Discrimination & Retaliation Claims Under the “Ministerial Exception”
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In Andersen v. El Triunfo Laundromat Corp., 54 N.Y.S.3d 166, 167–68 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. 2017), the court affirmed the denial of summary judgment to defendant in plaintiff’s slip-and-fall case. Plaintiff alleged that they slipped and fell due to the presence of a foreign substance on the floor of defendant’s premises. Summarizing the (familiar, now…

Read More Slip/Fall Plaintiff Survives Summary Judgment in Light of Fact Issue as to Constructive Notice
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In Falcon v. City University of New York, 15-cv-3421, 2017 WL 2982980, (E.D.N.Y. July 10, 2017), the court held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged a claim of retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the decision: Plaintiff has alleged sufficient facts to survive 12(b)(6) scrutiny regarding retaliation against her internal complaint…

Read More Title VII Retaliation Claim, Based on Internal/Informal Complaint, Survives Dismissal
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In Dineley v. Coach, Inc., No. 16CV3197 (DLC), 2017 WL 2963499 (S.D.N.Y. July 11, 2017), the court (inter alia) held that an executive assistant was not entitled to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act or the New York Labor Law, because she was subject to the “administrative” exemption under the statutes. That exemption –…

Read More Executive Assistant Fell Within Wage Laws’ Administrative Exemption; Not Entitled to Overtime
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In Dineley v. Coach, Inc., No. 16-cv-3197 (DLC), 2017 WL 2963499 (S.D.N.Y. July 11, 2017), the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim based on her disability (alcoholism). Initially, the court noted that while the Second Circuit has not yet decided whether the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) provides…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim, Based on Alcoholism Disability, Survives Summary Judgment
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In a lawsuit filed yesterday (Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University v. Donald J. Trump, SDNY 17-cv-5205), plaintiffs seek to declare as unconstitutional – as violating the First Amendment – defendant Trump’s practice of “blocking” users from his Twitter account, @realDonaldTrump. The complaint contains a single cause of action, which alleges: 79. Defendants’ blocking…

Read More First Amendment Lawsuit Asserts Trump’s Twitter Blocking is Unconstitutional
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