2017

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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In Batiste v. The City University of New York, No. 16-CV-3358 (VEC), 2017 WL 2912525 (S.D.N.Y. July 7, 2017) (J. Caproni), the court dismissed plaintiff’s discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims. Among other things, it held that plaintiff failed to exhaust her administrative remedies in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). “To present a…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed as Not Administratively Exhausted at the EEOC
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In Falu v. Cty. of Orange, No. 16-CV-0448 (NSR), 2017 WL 2889513, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. June 30, 2017), the court held that the plaintiff – a female corrections officers – sufficiently alleged a failure-to-promote gender discrimination claim. The court summarized the legal framework for such a claim: As noted, Falu’s Amended Complaint can be construed…

Read More Female Corrections Officer Sufficiently Alleges Gender Discrimination (Failure to Promote)
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In a terse Summary Order captioned Leena Varughese, M.D. v. Mount Sinai Medical Center et al, No. 15-1328, 2017 WL 2889483 (2d Cir. July 7, 2017), the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court’s judgment dismissing plaintiff’s discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims. From the Order: Review of the record and relevant case law here…

Read More 2d Circuit, Citing Plaintiff’s “Unacceptable Behavior”, Affirms Dismissal of Doctor’s Discrimination Claims
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In Pollard v. N.Y. Methodist Hosp., No. 15-3231, 2017 WL 2818134 (2d Cir. June 30, 2017), the Second Circuit vacated the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to the defendant on plaintiff’s claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, concluding (inter alia) that it “erred in holding that Pollard cannot, as a…

Read More FMLA Case Survives Summary Judgment; Issue of Fact Existed as to Whether Plaintiff Required “Multiple Treatments” and Was Thus a “Serious Health Condition”
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In Iscenko v. City of New York, No. 16 CIV. 6535 (LGS), 2017 WL 2880553 (S.D.N.Y. July 5, 2017), the court dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination claims The Complaint alleges that Defendants took adverse employment actions — suspended Plaintiff without pay, significantly diminished his responsibilities, filed charges against him and fired him — at least in…

Read More Court Dismisses White NYPD Detective’s Race Discrimination Claims
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In Phillips v. Central New York Psychiatric Center, No. 16-cv-0219, 2017 WL 2869938 (N.D.N.Y. July 5, 2017), the court articulated and applied the legal framework for evaluating comments as evidence of unlawful discrimination. The court explained: Verbal comments provide evidence of discriminatory intent when the plaintiff shows that a nexus exists between the allegedly discriminatory…

Read More Race/Gender Discrimination Claims Dismissed; “Sloppy” Remark Was Not Race-Based
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In Luka v. Bard College et al, No. 15-cv-4598, 2017 WL 2839641 (S.D.N.Y. June 29, 2017), the court held, inter alia, that plaintiff sufficiently alleged gender discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). This decision is instructive on how courts apply pleading standards to such claims. The court summarized the law: To…

Read More Lesbian Professor, Denied Tenure, Plausibly Alleges Discrimination Under the NYS Human Rights Law Against Bard College
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