Employment Discrimination

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In Chinnery v. NYS Office of Children and Family Svcs, decided April 25, 2014, Southern District of New York Magistrate Judge Maas recommended that defendant OCFS be granted summary judgment on plaintiff’s disparate treatment, retaliation, and hostile work environment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While the court’s discussion of…

Read More Court Reiterates That “Mere Workplace Bullying” Unrelated to the Plaintiff’s Membership in a Protected Class Does Not Constitute a Hostile Work Environment
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In Brown v. Daikin America, the Second Circuit (in an opinion dated June 27, 2014) held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged that his direct employer and its Japanese parent engaged in national origin and race discrimination under Title VII and NYS Human Rights Law claims. While this decision arises in the context of defendants’ motion to…

Read More White American Plaintiff Successfully Pleads Race and National Origin Discrimination Claims Against His U.S. Employer and its Japanese Parent
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The New York State and City Human Rights Laws are powerful weapons in the civil rights plaintiff’s arsenal. For example, they reach a broader range of people, and offer broader coverage, than their federal counterparts. However, as illusratd by a recent First Department decision, Benham v. eCommission Solutions (decided June 24, 2014), they are limited…

Read More Citing Geographical Limitations of NY State and City Human Rights Laws, First Department Dismisses Plaintiff’s Employment Discrimination Complaint
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In Petrone v. Hampton Bays Union Free School District (Summary Order dated May 28, 2014), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s disability discrimination claim. This case illustrates that, in order to succeed on a federal disability discrimination claim – whether based on an “adverse action” or “failure to accommodate” theory – an employee must identify an…

Read More Teacher With Mental Illness Loses Disability Discrimination Case, Where Requested Accommodation (Unpaid Leave) Was Not “Reasonable” Absent Assurance of Return
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In Bethea v. City of New York (decided June 12, 2014), the Eastern District of New York held that plaintiff adequately pleaded sexual harassment and hostile work environment claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to repeated sexual harassment by her co-worker, Sergeant Michelle Williams,…

Read More Police Officer Adequately Alleges Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, and Retaliation Claims
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In Morse v. JetBlue Airways Corp. decided June 9, 2014, the Eastern District of New York held that plaintiff’s receipt of Long Term Disability and Social Security Disability benefits precluded her from receiving back pay and front pay under the Americans With Disabilities Act and the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. (This decision addressed…

Read More Receipt of SSDI Benefits Precludes Disability Discrimination Plaintiff From Seeking Back Pay or Front Pay
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Below is the employment discrimination complaint, recently filed by security guard Tiffany Bryan against her employer AEG Management Brooklyn, alleging race discrimination. She seeks recovery under 42 U.S.C. section 1981 and the New York City Human Rights Law. It alleges that plaintiff, a black woman, “was ridiculed, discriminated against, and effectively terminated for the way she wears…

Read More Lawsuit Alleges Discriminatory Treatment For Failure to Tame Afro
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In Cruz v. NYS Dept. of Corrections, the Southern District of New York held (in a decision dated June 4, 2014) that the male plaintiff stated claims for hostile work environment and “quid pro quo” sexual harassment arising from unfair treatment by his female supervisor. The facts, as summarized by the court: Until August 8, 2012,…

Read More Male Corrections Employee States Sexual Harassment Claims Arising From Alleged Mistreatment by Female Boss
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In Karimian v. Time Equities, Inc., 569 Fed.Appx. 54, 13-997-cv (2d Cir. June 17, 2014) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed a district court decision granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s hostile work environment, retaliation, and national origin discrimination claims brought pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “In…

Read More Cost-Reduction Measures, and Not Anti-Iranian Discrimination, Justified Termination, Second Circuit Holds
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Employment discrimination cases – particularly those involving allegations of harassment or a hostile work environment – are often not suitable for resolution as a matter of law (or “summary judgment”), since they frequently turn on factual disputes more appropriately resolved by a jury rather than a judge. Some cases, however, are suitable for disposition as a…

Read More Court Grants Restaurant Co-Workers Summary Judgment on Sexual Harassment (Hostile Work Environment) Claims
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