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Now that the plaintiff has filed the Summons and Complaint (or, if in federal court, filed the Complaint and received the Summons issued by the court), they must “serve” these documents on the defendant(s). There are highly detailed and technical rules governing this process (see, e.g., FRCP 4; CPLR Article 3) which is beyond the…
Read More Anatomy of a Lawsuit, Part 2: Service of Process
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Every war begins with a first shot. In the context of litigation, that first shot is the timely filing of a complaint in an appropriate court – i.e., one that has both “subject matter jurisdiction” over the dispute and “personal jurisdiction” over the defendant(s). The one doing the filing is the “plaintiff” (who is comPLAINing…
Read More Anatomy of a Lawsuit, Part 1: The Summons & Complaint
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The anti-discrimination laws, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law prohibit (inter alia) discrimination based on “national origin.” See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e–2(a)(1). The regulations flesh out this aspect of Title VII as follows: The Commission defines…
Read More “National Origin” Discrimination Under Title VII Etc.
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Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overruled Roe v. Wade and jettisoned the federal constitutional right to abortion, there has been an uptick in discussions over the so-called “right to travel” between/among United States states. Specifically, the discussion has centered on the issue as it pertains to…
Read More The Constitutional Right to Travel
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If you are an employee and subjected to sexual harassment by a customer or client of your employer, may you sue your employer? In a relatively recent case, Swiderski v. Urban Outfitters, 2017 WL 6502221 (S.D.N.Y. 2017), the court explained: With respect to customer harassment [under the New York City Human Rights Law], it is…
Read More Sexual Harassment by Customers and Clients
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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. 2000e, is a comprehensive federal anti-discrimination statute that, inter alia, prohibits discrimination “because of” one’s race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, as well as retaliation for engaging in certain “protected activity.” But who does the statute protect, specifically?[1]Other laws specifically extend their protections…
Read More Am I an “Employee” for Purposes of Title VII?
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Workplace harassment occurs in a variety of forms and contexts; it is impossible to identify all of the factual permutations that might give rise to an actionable employment discrimination/hostile work environment claim. One form in which harassment, or “hostile work environment”, claims arise is when the victim/plaintiff is directly targeted – e.g., misogynistic or racial comments made…
Read More “Second-Hand” Harassment
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The purpose of a “demand letter” – the proverbial “shot across the bow” – in legal matters generally and employment discrimination matters specifically is, in sum, to (1) alert the target (in an employment discrimination case, the employer) to the existence of a legal issue, (2) express an interest in attempting to resolve it (typically…
Read More The Employment Discrimination Demand Letter
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Sexual harassment may occur in a variety of contexts, including in the employment, educational, and – as I will discuss here – the housing context. The New York City Human Rights Law, inter alia, makes it an “unlawful discriminatory practice” for owners and lessors “because of” the “actual or perceived” gender of any person to…
Read More Can I Sue My NYC Landlord For Sexual Harassment?
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Litigation in New York courts is governed by rules set forth in the New York Civil Practice Law & Rules (CPLR), “Uniform Rules”, local/judges’ rules, and case law. Generally, in the New York Supreme Court – which, contrary to what its name implies, is the lowest trial-level court in the state court system – the…
Read More The “Preliminary Conference” in New York Practice