Damages

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In Roberts v. UPS, 13-cv-6161 (Eastern District of New York), a jury recently awarded a discrimination plaintiff $50,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages under the New York City Human Rights Law ($25k compensatory for discrimination, $25k punitive for discrimination, $25k compensatory for retaliation, $25k punitive for retaliation). Federal subject matter jurisdiction was…

Read More $100,000 Jury Verdict for Victim of Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Harassment
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On June 29, 2015, a Manhattan federal jury awarded plaintiff Hanna Bouveng $18 million in her sexual harassment lawsuit against Benjamin Wey and his company, New York Global Group. This verdict is not necessarily the end of the matter; Judge Gardephe has already set a briefing schedule for post-trial motions. Here are the verdict form…

Read More Jury Awards Hanna Bouveng $18M in Sexual Harassment Suit Against Benjamin Wey
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On June 12, 2015, a federal jury awarded plaintiff Augustina Balu $300,000 in compensatory damages, and $25,000 in punitive damages, in her sexual harassment / hostile work environment lawsuit against the City of New York and NYPD employee Denis McAuliffe. Here is the jury’s verdict sheet in the case, captioned Balu v. City of New York et…

Read More Jury Awards $325K (Including Punitive Damages) to Plaintiff in Sexual Harassment / Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit Against the NYPD
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The Appellate Division, First Department, in Matter of Law Offs. of Oliver Zhou, PLLC v. New York State Div. of Human Rights, 2015 NY Slip Op 04569 (App. Div. 1st Dept. May 28, 2015) recently upheld the determination of the State Division of Human Rights that the petitioners violated the State Human Rights Law. In…

Read More Termination After Showing Employer Sexual Harassment Complaint Supports State Division Award
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In 2010, plaintiff Geralyn Ganci alleged, in a federal court complaint against U.S. Limousine Service Ltd. and Raymond Townsend, that she was subjected to hostile work environment and quid pro quo sexual harassment (including in person and by phone calls/text messages) by her boss Raymond Townsend and fired for rejecting his advances. Among the “vile and…

Read More $700,000+ Award in Limousine Company Sexual Harassment Case
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An employer recently learned the hard way that firing an employee – because she rejected his sexual advances – by text message is a bad idea. In Comm’n on Human Rights ex rel. Martinez v. Joseph “J.P.” Musso Home Improvement & Joseph Musso, OATH Index No. 2167/14 (Feb. 27, 2015), the New York City Office of Administrative…

Read More OMG LOL: Text Message Firing of Employee Who Opposed Sexual Harassment May Cost Employer $37K
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The law relating to the use of social media in litigation continues to evolve. A recent decision issued by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Caputi v. Topper Realty Corp. (decided Feb. 25, 2015), provides additional insight into how judges deal with this increasingly important issue. In Caputi, a wage-and-hour case, defendants…

Read More Court Allows Partial Access to Plaintiff’s Facebook Account
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In Lashley v. New Life Bus. Inst., Inc., No. 13 CIV. 2683 BMC, 2015 WL 1014128 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 9, 2015), the Eastern District of New York upheld a jury verdict in favor of Corey Lashley on his quid pro quo and hostile work environment sexual harassment claims. In this case, plaintiff Corey Lashley alleged, among other things,…

Read More Court Upholds Jury’s Verdict that Male Plaintiff Endured Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment by Female Boss
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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Seapod Pawnbrokers have entered into a consent decree resolving a lawsuit, EEOC v. Seapod Pawnbrokers, Inc. et al., EDNY 14-cv-4567. (Here is the EEOC press release.) In its October 2014 amended complaint, the EEOC alleges that defendants violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by subjecting female employees to…

Read More $300K Consent Decree in EEOC’s Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Seapod Pawnbrokers
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In Clark v. Allen & Overy, LLP, 2015 NY Slip Op 01398, 125 AD3d 497 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 17, 2015), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the lower court’s order granting defendant law firm’s motion to compel plaintiff to submit to a mental examination. (I wrote about a development in this case here.) The…

Read More Discrimination Plaintiff Seeking Emotional Distress Damages Must Submit to Mental Examination, First Dept. Holds
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