In Roberman v. Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas Holdings, LLC, No. 508293/2019, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 20013, 2020 WL 253372 (NY Sup Ct, Kings Cty. Jan. 13, 2020), the court held that plaintiff – a hearing-impaired individual – did not state a claim for disability discrimination under the New York City Human Rights Law. Plaintiff alleged, in…
Read More Public Accommodation Discrimination Lawsuit Against Movie Theater DismissedToday we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated in 1968. It is impossible to capture here the breadth and power of Dr. King’s words, actions, and life. His 1963 Letter From a Birmingham Jail (see also here) remains one of the most important documents in U.S. history. Its words –…
Read More Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2020In Vivian Xiang v. Eagle Enterprises, LLC, 19-cv-1752, 2020 WL 248941 (S.D.N.Y. January 16, 2020), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s pregnancy discrimination claim, asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The law, as summarized by the court: A plaintiff must plead sufficient facts to show that…
Read More Pregnancy Discrimination Claim Sufficiently AllegedIn Mejia v. White Plains Self Storage Corp., 2020 WL 247995 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 16, 2020), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s employment discrimination claim asserted under the New York City Human Rights Law. The court based its decision as to that claim on the NYCHRL’s limited geographic applicability. The court summarized the law as follows:…
Read More NYC Human Rights Law’s Geographic Limitations Explained and AppliedOn January 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in the case of Noris Babb v. Robert Wilkie, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, No. 18-882. Here is the transcript of the argument. The statute at issue, 29 USCA § 633a, titled “Nondiscrimination on account of age in Federal Government employment”, provides in part: (a)…
Read More SCOTUS Hears Oral Argument on Causation Standard in Federal-Sector Age Discrimination CasesIn Sirois v. Long Island Railroad Company, 18-2858-cv, 2020 WL 209282 (2d Cir. Jan. 14, 2020), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s retaliation claim under the Federal Railroad Safety Act. Plaintiff asserted that the defendant violated the FRSA by retaliating against her after she reported a work-related personal injury. The FRSA provides that a…
Read More 2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Federal Railroad Safety Act Retaliation ClaimIn Nachmany v. FXCM, Inc., 2020 WL 178413, at *6–7 (S.D.N.Y., 2020), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s sexual harassment claims. Here, since plaintiff and the alleged harasser are both male, the plaintiff was required to “sufficiently allege claims for same-sex harassment.” In analyzing plaintiff’s claim, the court explained and applied the framework articulated by…
Read More Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Claim DismissedThe New York City Human Rights Law was recently amended, yet again, to enhance the protections available to NYC workers. Effective January 11, 2020, the statute – one of the (if not the) broadest civil rights laws in the country – protects freelancers and independent contractors in addition to, e.g., “employees” and interns. The new…
Read More NYC Human Rights Law Expanded to Protect Freelancers and Independent ContractorsIn Mitchell v. New York City, No. 161543/2018, 2020 WL 109664 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County Jan. 09, 2020), the court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s retaliation claim (though it dismissed plaintiff’s race/gender discrimination and hostile work environment claims. From the decision: Although the court finds plaintiff failed to establish a prima facie…
Read More NYPD Officer’s Retaliation Claim Survives Dismissal, Court RulesIn Ibrahim v. Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, 19-CV-3821, 2020 WL 107104 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 9, 2020), the court, inter alia, held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged sexual harassment under the New York City Human Rights Law, codified at N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8–107(1)(a) (NYCHRL). The court’s decision nicely summarizes the present state of the law regarding how…
Read More Sexual Harassment Claims Sufficiently Alleged Against Fidelity Brokerage Services, Court Holds