In Nagaraj v. Sandata Technologies, LLC, 2020 WL 6482194 (EDNY Nov. 4, 2020), the court adopted a Magistrate Judge’s Report & Recommendation finding that plaintiff may proceed on his claim of a hostile work environment based on race discrimination culminating in a constructive discharge. This decision is instructive on the scope of a federal statute,…
Read More Race-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives DismissalIn Legg v. Ulster County, 2020 WL 6325857 (2d Cir. Oct. 29, 2020), the court, inter alia, affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendant’s post-verdict motion for judgment as a matter of law (per Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50(b)) on a female plaintiff officer’s hostile work environment/sexual harassment claim under Title VII of the…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Verdict UpheldIn Mezinev v. Donald Smith & Co., Inc., 161367/2017, 2020 NY Slip Op 33429 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. Oct. 9, 2020), the court, inter alia, dismissed defendant employer’s counterclaims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of the faithless servant doctrine. Plaintiff commenced this action seeking damages for alleged employment discrimination…
Read More Employer’s Breach of Contract Claim, Based on Alleged Secret Recording of Conversations in the Workplace, Dismissedn Rosalie v. Supreme Glass Co., Inc., 18-CV-02064, 2020 WL 6263311 (EDNY Oct. 23, 2020), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sexual orientation-based hostile work environment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York City Human Rights Law. (The court also denied…
Read More Wrongful Termination Claim, Based on Plaintiff’s Gender and Sexual Orientation, Survives Summary JudgmentIn Rosalie v. Supreme Glass Co., Inc., 18-CV-02064, 2020 WL 6263311 (EDNY Oct. 23, 2020), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sexual orientation-based hostile work environment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York City Human Rights Law. The court outlined the…
Read More Hostile Work Environment (Sexual Orientation/Gender) Claims Survive Based on Offensive CommentsIn Langlois v. Hartford Board of Education et al, 2020 WL 6278722 (2d Cir. Oct. 27, 2020) (Summary Order), the court, inter alia, affirmed the dismissal on summary judgment of plaintiff’s race-based hostile work environment claim asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court wrote: [W]e agree with the district…
Read More Race-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim Properly Dismissed; Most Conduct Was “Reasonably Expected” in the School EnvironmentIn Cardwell v. Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP et al, 19-cv-10256, 2020 WL 6274826 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 24, 2020), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s race-based hostile work environment claim. In sum, plaintiff – a law firm associate – alleged (inter alia) that he was suffered a hostile work environment on account of his race, in…
Read More Race-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; Social Ostracism InsufficientIn Stephens v. New York State Division of Human Rights, No. 100699/18, 12163, 2019-5430, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 06038, 2020 WL 6163900 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept., Oct. 22, 2020), the court, inter alia, upheld the dismissal (by the NYS Division of Human Rights) of the petitioner’s disability discrimination claims. Here, the NYSDHR issued a determination of…
Read More Disability Discrimination Claims, Based on “Invisible” or “Hidden” Disability (Brain Injury), Properly DismissedIn Green v. Mount Sinai Health System, Inc. et al, 2020 WL 6165969 (2d Cir. Oct. 22, 2020) (Summary Order), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s retaliation claim asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the court held that (1) plaintiff did not engage in “protected activity”, (2) plaintiff…
Read More Retaliation Claim Dismissed; “Generalized Complaints” Did Not Constitute “Protected Activity”In Lax v. City University of New York et al, 2020 WL 6161253 (EDNY Oct. 21, 2020), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. The court summarized the “black-letter law” as follows: A hostile work environment claim requires a showing: (1) that the harassment was “sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed, as it was Largely Based on Conduct Experienced by Others