Employment Discrimination

In Ravina v. Columbia University and Geert Bekaert, 16-cv-2137, 2019 WL 1450449 (S.D.N.Y. March 31, 2019), a sexual harassment/retaliation case, the court – in addition to denying defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff’s retaliation claim – next evaluated the jury’s damage awards to plaintiff ($750,000 in emotional distress damages, $500,000…

Read More Court Remits Punitive Damages Award, from $500,000 to $250,000, in Sexual Harassment/Retaliation Case Against Columbia University
Share This:

In Ravina v. Columbia University and Geert Bekaert, 16-cv-2137, 2019 WL 1450449 (S.D.N.Y. March 31, 2019), a sexual harassment/retaliation case, the court – in addition to denying defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff’s retaliation claim – next evaluated the jury’s damage awards to plaintiff ($750,000 in emotional distress damages, $500,000…

Read More Court Remits $750,000 Award for Emotional Distress Damages in Retaliation/Sexual Harassment Case Against Columbia University
Share This:

In Ravina v. Columbia University and Geert Bekaert, 16-cv-2137, 2019 WL 1450449 (S.D.N.Y. March 31, 2019), a sexual harassment/retaliation case, the court denied defendant’s motion for judgment as a matter of law on plaintiff’s retaliation claim, but granted its motion for remittitur as to the jury’s damage awards for compensatory/emotional distress damages and punitive damages.…

Read More Jury Verdict of Retaliation for Complaints of Sexual Harassment Against Columbia University Professor Upheld
Share This:

In a recent decision, Feldesman v. Interstate Hotels LLC, 16-cv-9352, 2019 WL 1437576 (S.D.N.Y. March 31, 2019), the court, inter alia, explained that, under the circumstances, so-called “sex neutral” events contributed to plaintiff’s actionable hostile work environment claim. From the decision: Interstate also asserts that the evidence establishes that struggles about money, authority, and bar…

Read More Court Finds “Sex Neutral” Events Contributed to Actionable Hostile Work Environment Against Hotel Employer
Share This:

In Nixon v. TWC Administration LLC, 16-cv-6456, 2019 WL 1428348 (SDNY March 29, 2019), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s age discrimination (wrongful termination) claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA). Plaintiff conceded that she violated several of defendant’s policies, but claimed that her termination based on such violations was a…

Read More Age Discrimination Claim Dismissed; “Dinosaur” and Other Comments Lacked Sufficient Nexus to Termination
Share This:

In Rea v. New York State Dept. of Transportation, 2019 WL 1409977 (N.D.N.Y. March 28, 2019), the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). In sum, the court held that the DOT may not be sued in federal court, in light of the Eleventh Amendment: The DOT is an…

Read More Age Discrimination Claim (ADEA) Against NYS Dept. of Transportation Dismissed on Eleventh Amendment Grounds
Share This:

In Alexander Guerrero Toro v. Northstar Demolition & Remediation, 2019 WL 1396751 (W.D.N.Y. March 28, 2019), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s claim of a disability-based hostile work environment claim. From the decision: Plaintiff testified that he was subject to workplace harassment because he was assigned to jobs he could not complete, his supervisors wanted…

Read More Asbestos Handler’s Disability-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed
Share This:

In Burgos v. City of New York, 2019 WL 1299461, at *10–11 (S.D.N.Y., 2019), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s retaliation claim – though it did dismiss his claims of discrimination based on his race (Hispanic) and religion (Islam). The court held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged the existence of one or…

Read More Sanitation Worker’s Title VII Retaliation Claim Survives Dismissal Against the City of New York
Share This:

In a recent decision, Lovell v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York, 2019 WL 1311128 (2d Cir. March 22, 2019) (Summary Order), the court held that the plaintiff lacked standing to pursue a federal claim of employment discrimination under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”). The court provides a summary of the…

Read More 2d Circuit: Plaintiff Lacked Standing to Pursue USERRA Claim
Share This: