In Pennetti v. The City of New York, No. 154367/2023, 2024 WL 3345017 (N.Y. Sup Ct, New York County June 24, 2024), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s hostile work environment claims.
From the decision:
Defendant’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim is denied. Under the State HRL, a hostile work environment is one that is “permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult, that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create an abusive working environment.” Forrest, 3 N.Y.3d 295, 311 (2004).
Defendant argues that Plaintiff only alleges that a hostile work environment was created for older male staff and does not allege that she was the subject of any actions that could form the basis of a hostile work environment. Plaintiff alleges in her complaint that Defendant-Jarmoszuk created a hostile work environment by yelling, demeaning, and threatening to terminate the employment of older male employees. Plaintiff states that she was offended the behavior of Defendant-Jarmoszuk’s, alleges that this behavior became a pattern and practice in the workplace and reported the behavior on several occasions.
Accordingly, the court held that plaintiff sufficiently pled that Defendant created a hostile work environment based on the “continuous allegations of discriminatory behavior towards a protected group.”