March 2019

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In Noel v. Wal-Mart Stores, East LP, 18-1139-cv (2d Cir. March 11, 2019) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit, inter alia, vacated the lower court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff, who held the position of pharmacist manager, suffered from trypanophobia (or needle phobia). He sought an exemption from an alteration of his job description that would…

Read More 2d Circuit Overturns Dismissal of Disability Discrimination Complaint by Needle-Fearing Pharmacist
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The New York City Commission on Human Rights recently released its Legal Enforcement Guidance on Race Discrimination on the Basis of Hair (February 2019). That document provides, inter alia: The New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) protects the rights of New Yorkers to maintain natural hair or hairstyles that are closely associated with their…

Read More “Hair Discrimination” Enforcement Guidance Issued by NYC Commission on Human Rights
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In Nguedi v. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, 16-cv-636, 2019 WL 1083966 (S.D.N.Y. March 7, 2019), the court, inter alia, granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. From the decision: The [New York City Human Rights Law] “is not a ‘general civility code.’ ” Mihalik, 715 F.3d at…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed Against Federal Reserve Bank of New York
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From Fox v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, 2019 WL 1050643, at *7 (C.A.2 (N.Y.), 2019): The district court demanded too much of Fox. Fox is not required to list the shift, week, or month to be able to present this issue to a jury. See Aulicino v. N.Y.C. Dep’t of Homeless Servs., 580 F.3d 73, 84…

Read More Plaintiff’s ADA Disability Disability Discrimination Claim Survives Summary Judgment Summary Judgment Claim
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In Hazelwood v. Highland Hospital, 17-4139 (2d Cir. March 1, 2019) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s (a deaf woman) claims of failure to accommodate and unlawful retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The court provides some guidance as to what qualifies as an ADA “reasonable accommodation”: A reasonable…

Read More 2d Circuit: Disability Accommodation (Effective, Though Not Preferred) Was ADA-Compliant
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The IRS has addressed and clarified an ambiguity in a recently-enacted tax law that relates to deductions of attorney fees in sexual harassment cases, where a nondisclosure agreement is in play. Section 162(q) of the Internal Revenue Code provides: (q) Payments related to sexual harassment and sexual abuse No deduction shall be allowed under this…

Read More IRS Clarifies Ambiguity in New Deduction Section Relating to Confidential Settlements in Sexual Harassment Cases
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Today, March 3, 2019, marks the 100th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919), an important First Amendment case setting the stage for the modern interpretation of the First Amendment. The unanimous Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., upheld the convictions, under…

Read More “Shouting Fire in a Theatre”: Schenck v. United States Turns 100
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In Sarmiento v. Ampex Casting Corp., 2019 NY Slip Op 30431(U), Index NO. 150294/2011 (Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Feb. 21, 2019), the court (inter alia) denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s gender discrimination and retaliation claims. The court addressed the “central question” of “whether plaintiff has stated an issue of fact in her…

Read More Sexual Harassment Claim Survives Summary Judgment
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