Employment Law

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In Duarte v. St. Barnabas Hospital, 15-CV-6824, 2018 WL 4440501 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 2018) – a disability discrimination case – the court held, inter alia, that a jury award of $624,000 for compensatory/emotional distress damages was too high, and that $125,000 was more appropriate. To do this, the court employed the procedural mechanism of “remittitur.” After explaining…

Read More Court Explains Remittitur of $624,000 Emotional Distress Damages Award to $125,000 in Disability Discrimination Case
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Generally, the anti-discrimination laws – such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – prohibit discrimination against employees and applicants based on certain protected characteristics (as in the case of Title VII, race, color, religion, sex, and national origin).    That said, there exists a (limited) exception, where such a characteristic is…

Read More The “Bona Fide Occupational Qualification” (“BFOQ”) in Employment Law
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Employment discrimination cases are often resolved by settlement – i.e., a negotiated agreement for the parties to discontinue a case on agreed-upon terms. A settlement can be reached either before or after the commencement of litigation. In many, if not most, cases, the agreement will be reduced to a writing and signed by the parties.…

Read More Settling an Employment Discrimination Case: The Agreement
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Federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws prohibit discrimination based on, among other factors, “disability.” That term is, in turn, defined in the statutes themselves. For example, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C.A. § 12101 et seq., defines a “disability” as: “(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major…

Read More Is Obesity a “Disability” Under the Anti-Discrimination Laws?
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In Martin v. City University of New York, 2018 WL 6510805 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 11, 2018), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s age and race discrimination claims. In doing so, the court cited and applied the so-called “stray remarks” doctrine. In support of the “inference of discrimination” element of plaintiff’s prima facie case, plaintiff advanced the following four remarks…

Read More Citing the “Stray Remarks” Doctrine, Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s Age and Race Discrimination Claims
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In Martin v. City University of New York, 2018 WL 6510805 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 11, 2018), the court, inter alia, rejected defendants’ argument that plaintiff is precluded from litigating his § 1981 claims in the instant action, because plaintiff presented those allegations to the New York State Division of Human Rights (SDHR), which rejected them on the merits.…

Read More Court Finds That “No Probable Cause” Determination Did Not Preclude Litigation of § 1981 Race Discrimination Claim in Court
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In Giordani v. Legal Aid Society, 17-CV-5569, 2018 WL 6199553 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 27, 2018), the court held, inter alia, that plaintiff failed to plead an age-based hostile work environment claim. From the decision: While Plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim is largely based on a series of unpleasant interactions with his colleagues, some of the incidents…

Read More Age-Based Hostile Work Environment Insufficiently Alleged
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In Cook v. EmblemHealth Servs. Co., LLC, 2018 NY Slip Op 08433 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Dec. 11, 2018), the First Department unanimously affirmed the denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s retaliation claim under the New York City Human Rights Law. From the decision: The temporal proximity between plaintiff’s complaints to his employer…

Read More Retaliation Claim Continues Against EmblemHealth; Summary Judgment Denial Affirmed
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In Chin v. Alejandro Torres et al, 2018 WL 6435898, at *2 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 7, 2018), the court dismissed plaintiff’s sexual harassment complaint, citing the well-established principle that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is not applicable against individual defendants. As summarized by the court, plaintiff “alleges that she was employed in…

Read More Court Dismisses Title VII Sexual Harassment Complaint Against Individual Defendants
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