In Scott v. YSB Services Inc., 21-CV-7711 (VSB), 2024 WL 1330043 (S.D.N.Y. March 28, 2024), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim of hostile work environment sexual harassment asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law.
As to plaintiff’s claims under Title VII and the NYSHRL, the court explained:
Plaintiff alleges that Defendant violated Title VII, NYCHRL, and NYSHRL by creating and maintaining a hostile discriminating work environment against Plaintiff because of her sex and gender. Plaintiff pleads a claim for hostile work environment under Title VII and NYSHRL by plausibly alleging that she experienced pervasive sexual harassment by her supervisor which created a hostile work environment. This conduct included Samuels calling Plaintiff sexy on a daily, sustained and continuous basis, initiating unwanted physical contact with Plaintiff’s “breast and buttocks, and offering Plaintiff “money in exchange for sexual relations. Without question, when a supervisor sexually harasses a subordinate because of the subordinate’s sex, that supervisor discriminates on the basis of sex. Meritor Sav. Bank, FSB v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57, 64 (1986). [Citations and internal quotation marks omitted.]
The court further held that since plaintiff adequately stated a claim under federal and state law, she met the threshold for pleading a hostile work environment claim under the comparatively broader New York City Human Rights Law.