Employment Law

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In Cowan v. City of Mount Vernon, No. 14-CV-8871 (KMK), 2017 WL 1169667 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 28, 2017), the court dismissed plaintiff’s sexual harassment claim as insufficiently pled. This decision illustrates the degree of specificity courts look for when evaluating these types of claims on a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. From…

Read More Sexual Harassment Claim Dismissed; Court Cites Lack of Complaint’s Specificity
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In Balk v. New York Institute of Technology, No. 16-984-CV, 2017 WL 1103428, (2d Cir. Mar. 23, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the race, national origin, and religious discrimination claims asserted by the plaintiff. The court considered, and rejected, plaintiff’s reliance on the so-called “customer preference” doctrine, which provides (in sum) that…

Read More 2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Non-Muslim American Professor’s Race/Religion/National Origin Discrimination Claims
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In a recent Manhattan federal court lawsuit, Ahmed v. American Museum of Natural History (SDNY 17-2095 filed March 23, 2017), the (male) plaintiff asserts that he was subjected to retaliation for opposing sexual harassment of a female colleague by his boss, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against the American Museum of Natural History
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In Christensen v. Omnicom Group Inc., No. 16-748, 2017 WL 1130183 (2d Cir. Mar. 27, 2017), the Second Circuit overturned a lower court decision that dismissed (under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)) the discrimination claim by plaintiff, an openly gay man, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In sum, the Second…

Read More Second Circuit Permits Gay Man’s Title VII Discrimination Case to Proceed on Gender Stereotyping Theory
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In Rogers v. Fashion Inst. of Tech. et al, No. 14-CV-6420 (AJN), 2017 WL 1078572 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 21, 2017), the court granted in part and denied in part defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s (an African American part-time adjunct professor in FIT’s production management department) claims of race discrimination. (This decision follows a prior dismissal and…

Read More FIT Professor’s Race Discrimination Claims Proceed in Part
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In Simons v. Petrarch LLC and Hicham Aboutaam, 2017 NY Slip Op 30457(U) (NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty. March 1, 2017) (J. Hagler), a sexual harassment case, the court applied spoliation sanctions on plaintiff. This case is instructive as to the obligations of litigants generally, and in sexual harassment cases in particular, to preserve evidence.…

Read More Sexual Harassment Plaintiff Hit With Spoliation Sanctions
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In DeVore v. Neighborhood Hous. Servs. of Jamaica Inc. (NHSJ), No. 15-CV-6218 (PKC), 2017 WL 1034787 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 16, 2017), the court held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged a claim of gender discrimination. From the decision: [T]he Court finds that Plaintiff has sufficiently pled a disparate treatment claim on the basis of gender. Plaintiff alleges that…

Read More Male Employee’s Gender Discrimination (Disparate Treatment) Claim Sufficiently Pled; Survives Motion to Dismiss
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In Bien-Aime v. Equity Residential, No. 15-CV-1485 (VEC), 2017 WL 696695 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2017), the court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s disability discrimination claims (under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), but denied…

Read More Manhattan Building Porter’s ADA Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Disability Discrimination Claims Dismissed
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In Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp., No. 15-277(L), 2017 WL 1055566 (2d Cir. Mar. 21, 2017), the Second Circuit reversed a lower court decision in favor of the plaintiff on his wrongful termination and retaliation claims, and affirmed its dismissal of plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate claim, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state law. Plaintiff, a pharmacist, suffers…

Read More 2d Circuit Rules Against Needle-Fearing Pharmacist on Disability Discrimination Claims
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In Bailey v. Reg’l Radio Grp. LLC, No. 15-cv-375, 2017 WL 1025948 (N.D.N.Y. Mar. 15, 2017), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s gender-based disparate treatment (including constructive discharge), gender-based hostile work environment, and retaliation claims. In this case, plaintiff generally alleges that Defendant Ashworth discriminated against and harassed her and…

Read More Court Dismisses Gender Discrimination/Constructive Discharge, Hostile Work Environment, Retaliation Claims Against Regional Radio Group LLC
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