Employment Discrimination

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In Parra v. City of White Plains (decided Sept. 4, 2014), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff plausibly alleged some, but not other, claims of discrimination. Plaintiff, a Hispanic female police officer, alleged that defendants subjected her to a hostile work environment based on sexual harassment, retaliated against her for complaining about the…

Read More Pairing Harassment Victim With Harassers Was Unreasonable, Supporting Vicarious Liability in Police Officer’s Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Case
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In Nankivell v. Ardis Health, LLC, the court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim for sex discrimination and harassment under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The NYCHRL is broader than its federal and state counterparts (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law,…

Read More Sexual Comments and Conduct Were Not “Petty Slights or Trivial Inconveniences”, Supporting Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Claim Under NYC Human Rights Law
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In Cadet-Legros v. New York University Hospital Center, 2014 WL 11087457 (Sup. Ct. NY Cty . Oct. 9, 2014), the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s race discrimination claim under the New York City Human Rights Law. This decision illustrates how even allegedly “race neutral” language can be evidence of an improper…

Read More Evidence of “Coded Racial Language” Sufficient to Overcome Summary Judgment on Race Discrimination Claim
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In EEOC v. Port Authority, decided 9/29/14, the Second Circuit provided guidance on the level of specificity necessary to survive a motion to dismiss a claim under the Equal Pay Act of 1963, 29 U.S.C. 206(d). This case began with a charge of discrimination filed by a female Port Authority attorney, and led to an investigation…

Read More Failure to Allege Facts Concerning Attorneys’ Job Duties Results in Dismissal of Equal Pay Act Claim
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In Hu v. UGL Services Unicco Operations Co., decided October 9, 2014, the Southern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s age discrimination claims under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). One take-away point from this case…

Read More Absence of Ageist Comments Dooms Age Discrimination Case at the “Pretext” Stage
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The Eastern District’s recent decision in Tate v. Rocketball Ltd (decided 9/18/14) provides some insight into how courts assess discrimination claims arising outside the “typical” employer-employee relationship/setting. Plaintiff, a gay male, worked for a restaurant. Part of his job duties included bringing food and drinks to the Houston Rockets’ locker room while they were at Barclays Center…

Read More Waiter’s Sexual Orientation Discrimination/Hostile Work Environment Claims Dismissed Against Non-Employer Houston Rockets’ Owner
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In Cole v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., decided Sept. 30, 2014, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s discrimination (hostile work environment) and retaliation claims. As to plaintiff’s discrimination claim, the court held: Viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiff, the evidence shows that, from…

Read More Evidence of Anti-Gay Hate Speech Suffices to Overcome Summary Judgment on Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment Claims
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Here and below is the gender discrimination lawsuit filed on 9/23/14 by former contract partner Jodi Ritter against law firm Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP. Plaintiff alleges, for example, that she “was regularly exposed to differential treatment and a persistent hostile and abusive work environment because of her sex and the gender stereotypes perpetrated…

Read More Attorney’s Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Against Law Firm Wilson Elser
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In EEOC v. Suffolk Laundry Services, 48 F.Supp.3d 497 (2014), the Eastern District of New York denied defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment on plaintiffs’ hostile work environment claims. (Here is the complaint and here is the EEOC press release about the lawsuit.) One point this decision makes is that “conduct directed at other employees is part of the…

Read More “Hostile Work Environment” Can Be Shown By Conduct Directed at Other Employees
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