Employment Discrimination

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In Henry v. Morgan’s Hotel Grp., Inc., No. 15-CV-1789 (ER)(JLC), 2016 WL 303114 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 25, 2016) – a race and sexual orientation discrimination case – the court quashed subpoenas seeking documents from plaintiff’s prior employers. Specifically, the court quashed the subpoenas because they (1) failed to provide adequate notice, (2) would cause prejudice to plaintiff,…

Read More Court Quashes Subpoenas Seeking Documents Held By Discrimination Plaintiff’s Prior Employers
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In Koke v. Baumgardner, No. 15-CV-9673 (LAK), 2016 WL 93094 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 5, 2016), the court considered the applicability of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation. Plaintiff sued in New York state court for alleged discrimination “because of her gender and her actual or…

Read More Federal Court Rejects Jurisdictional Challenge to Sexual Orientation Discrimination Case Brought Under Title VII
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In Penn v. The New York Methodist Hospital, No. 11-CV-9137 (NSR), 2016 WL 270456 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 20, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s Title VII religion-based discrimination claim under the so-called”ministerial exception,” which operates at the intersection of anti-discrimination and First Amendment law. The ministerial exception, which is based on the Religion Clauses of the First…

Read More Court Dismisses Methodist Chaplain’s Religious Discrimination Claim Against Hospital Under the “Ministerial Exception”
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In Palmer v New York City Dept. of Health & Hygiene, 2016 NY Slip Op 30037(U) (Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. Jan. 5, 2016), the court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint alleging disability discrimination. The law: A prima facie case of discrimination requires a showing by plaintiff that: [1] she is a…

Read More Absenteeism, Not Disability, Was Reason for Termination, Court Holds
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In a lawsuit captioned Nolan-Griffin v. NYSARC, SDNY 16-cv-370 (filed Jan. 17, 2016), plaintiff alleges, among other things, that her “coworkers regularly made ‘jokes’ wherein the punch line centered on [her] Griffin’s Italian ancestry and her ‘whiteness.’” She also asserts a claim under the “healthcare whistleblowing” statute, NY Labor Law section 741.

Read More Lawsuit Alleges Discrimination Based on Italian Ethnicity, Violation of Healthcare Whistleblower Law
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In a lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court on January 19, 2016, Mikolaenko v. NYU School of Medicine et al (16-cv-00413), plaintiff – a doctor – asserts (among other things) that her supervisor threatened to give her poor reviews and terminate her unless she had sex with him, propositioned plaintiff for sex, and made inappropriate…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against NYU School of Medicine and Others
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In Dotel v. Walmart Stores, Inc., No. 15-76-CV, 2016 WL 158466, at *1 (2d Cir. Jan. 14, 2016) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint against Walmart Stores alleging sex discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. As to her hostile work environment claim, the court…

Read More Second Circuit Invokes the “Equal Opportunity Jerk” Principle in Affirming Dismissal of Plaintiff’s Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim
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In a lawsuit filed on January 11, 2016 in New York Supreme Court, Sclafani v. Marie (NY Sup. Ct., Index No. 150205/2016), plaintiff alleges that while she was employed as a dental hygienist by defendant dentist Glenn Marie, he sexually harassed her and subjected her to a hostile work environment (by, e.g., asking her to give…

Read More Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, and Retaliation Against Dentist Who Allegedly Wanted Plaintiff Hygienist to Give His Penis a “Cleaning”
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In Marcus v. Leviton Mfg. Co., No. 15CV656SJFGRB, 2016 WL 74415 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 6, 2016), the Eastern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s age discrimination case for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Although this plaintiff loses, Judge Feuerstein’s decision is instructive regarding what judges look for when evaluating…

Read More Pleading Lessons From a Dismissed Age Discrimination Case
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In Taft v. Agric. Bank of China Ltd., No. 15 CIV. 5321 (PAE), 2016 WL 80209 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 6, 2016), the Southern District of New York ruled on defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s whistleblower retaliation claim under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). Plaintiff alleged that “she was subjected to frequent sexually charged comments and gender-related…

Read More Court Interprets Retaliation Provision of the Bank Secrecy Act
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