Perhaps this is the new frontier of employment law: punishing plaintiffs’ lawyers for daring to assert claims on behalf of their clients. In a recent complaint, prominent NYC plaintiffs’ lawyer Douglas Wigdor asserts that SoulCycle banned him after he sued the company (on behalf of a client) for violations of the New York Labor Law and…
Read More Plaintiffs’ Lawyers: The New Protected Class?In Verga v. Emergency Ambulance Service Inc. et al, the Eastern District of New York denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on his retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law. Plaintiff, an EMT, alleged that he was fired after complaining about sexual…
Read More Court Finds Sufficient Evidence (at the Summary Judgment Stage) of “But For” Causation in Title VII Retaliation CaseIn Mathew v. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, a Summary Order dated 11/13/14, the Second Circuit explained that, in a case alleging retaliation under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), courts “are decidedly not interested in the truth of the allegations against plaintiff when evaluating pretext”, and are rather “interested in what motivated the employer.”…
Read More Second Circuit Reiterates That Employer’s Motivation, Rather Than Truth of Allegations Against Employee, Are Key in Evaluating FMLA Retaliation ClaimsIn Nelson v. Vigorito, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of summary judgment to defendants on plaintiff’s claim of sexual harassment based on a hostile work environment under the New York State Human Rights Law. Here are the facts, as summarized by the court: The plaintiff, a former employee of the defendant Security…
Read More Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Claims Continue Against Long Island Car DealershipIn a lawsuit captioned Misas v. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and Julio Cardoza, SDNY 14-cv-8787 (filed Nov. 4, 2014), plaintiffs allege that defendants North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and Julio Cardoza subjected them to harassment, discrimination, a hostile work environment and retaliation. They assert, for example, that a supervisor told one plaintiff…
Read More Sausages, Pornography, Witchcraft, and Spanking: Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Lenox Hill HospitalIn Satina v. NYC Human Resources Admin., the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff adequately stated claims for discrimination (unequal pay due to her gender) and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. Plaintiff…
Read More Court Provides Roadmap For Pleading “Unequal Gender Pay” Discrimination ClaimsIn Thomas v. New York City Dept. of Educ., the New York Supreme Court held that the Department of Education erred by denying petitioner – a paraprofessional who worked with special needs children at the Department of Education – reinstatement following his termination due to a conviction for drunk driving assault. It annulled, under CPLR Article…
Read More Special Needs Paraprofessional Entitled to “Second Chance” at Employment Following Conviction for Drunk Driving AssaultIn Browne v. Board of Education, the Appellate Division, Second Dept. affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim for gender discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law, N.Y. Executive Law § 296. In a terse decision and order devoid of factual elaboration, the court held: In opposition to the defendants’…
Read More Second Dept. Case Explains One Way to Prove Pretext in Employment Discrimination CasesIt is arguably the epitome of unfairness: being denied a job because you have no job. To remedy this unfairness, the New York City Human Rights Law was recently amended to add a new provision, NYC Admin. Code 8-107(21), that prohibits discrimination in hiring against the unemployed. The new law provides, in part, that unless…
Read More Lawsuit Alleges Discrimination Based on Unemployment Status Against Solomon-Page GroupIn O’Brien v. NYC Civil Service Comm’n, the court granted an Article 78 petition annulling the determination of the New York City Civil Service Commission confirming the NYPD’s decision finding the petitioner – who has a history of multiple sclerosis – medically disqualified from appointment as a NYPD police officer. Notably, NYPD did not physically examine the…
Read More Court Overturns NYPD Disqualification Due to History of Multiple Sclerosis