Author: mjpospis

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In Pearce v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., No. 14 CIV. 6836, 2016 WL 4540832 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 30, 2016), the court denied defendant’s summary judgment motion on plaintiff’s personal injury / slip-and-fall claim. In sum, plaintiff claimed that they were injured when they slipped on a wet substance while in defendant’s store. As explained by the court,…

Read More Slip/Fall Case Continues; Destruction of Video Leads to Inference of Constructive Notice
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In a lawsuit filed in New York State Court on 11/22/16, captioned Corcoran v. Siebert Cisneros Shank Co LLC et a (Index No. 159868/2016), plaintiff asserts that “[h]is working environment … more closely resembled a rowdy teenage boys’ locker room than a professional trading floor at a well-regarded Wall Street firm.” This allegation evokes president-elect Donald…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Siebert Cisneros Shank
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In Pall v. Roosevelt Union Free Sch. Dist., No. 11734/13, 2016 WL 6885459 (N.Y. App. Div. 2nd Dept Nov. 23, 2016), the court affirmed the dismissal – for failure to state a claim under CPLR 3211(a)(7) – of plaintiff’s defamation and (NYS Human Rights Law) hostile work environment claims. The facts, as summarized by the…

Read More “Bitches” Comment Was Opinion; Teacher’s Defamation and Hostile Work Environment Claims Properly Dismissed
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In Figueroa v. Johnson, 648 F. App’x 130, 133 (2d Cir. 2016), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s gender/national origin discrimination, hostile work environment, quid pro quo sexual harassment, and retaliation claims. Plaintiff, a Customs and Border Protection Officer at JFK Airport, argued (inter alia) that he was discriminated against on the basis of gender…

Read More Gender/National Origin Discrimination Claim Dismissed; Comparators Also Required to Work Holidays (Including Thanksgiving)
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In today’s political climate, it is more important than ever to protect workers from workplace discrimination, including sexual harassment and discrimination based on protected characteristics such as gender, race/color, religion, sexual orientation, and national origin. Last week the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal administrative agency tasked with enforcing, inter alia, Title VII of the…

Read More EEOC Issues Enforcement Guidance on National Origin Discrimination
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In a recently-filed lawsuit, captioned Castellanos v. Berkman Capital LLC et al (filed in NY Sup. Ct., Index 159768-2016, 11/18/16), plaintiff asserts claims of gender discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, and sexual harassment against financial lending company Berkman Financial and others, including individual defendants Geoffrey Byruch and Michael Vulcano. Plaintiff alleges, among other things, that she was…

Read More Sexual Harassment, Gender/Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Against Berkman Capital
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In Goodwin v. Dix Hills Jewish Ctr., 2016 NY Slip Op 07293 (App. Div. 2nd Dept. Nov. 9, 2016), a construction accident case, the court held that plaintiff established a violation of New York Labor Law § 240(1). It therefore modified a lower court order denying plaintiff’s, and granting defendant’s, motion on that issue. Here are the…

Read More Injured Worker Who Fell From Ladder Entitled to Summary Judgment on Labor Law 240(1) Claim; Work Was Ancillary to Covered Activity of “Altering”
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A recent upstate appellate decision addresses the correlation between a sexual harassment claim, on the one hand, and workers’ compensation benefits, on the other. In Shiner v. Suny at Buffalo, No. 522762, 2016 WL 6782717, (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. Nov. 17, 2016), the court affirmed the Workers Compensation Board’s decision that claimant’s failure to obtain…

Read More Sexual Harassment Settlement Bars Further Workers Compensation Benefits, De
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In Case v. Onondaga Cty., No. 5:14-cv-272, 2016 WL 6781237 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 16, 2016), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sexual harassment/hostile work environment and retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As to plaintiff’s harassment claim, the court explained: Here, assuming, without deciding, that [alleged…

Read More Sexual Harassment Claim Dismissed in Light of Policy and Investigation
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