Employment Law

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In Calvo v. Aristizabal (NY Sup Ct. NY Cty. Index 156048/16 Jan. 20, 2017) (J. Mendez), the court granted defendant’s motion pursuant to CPLR 3211(a)(1) and (7), CPLR 7503, and 9 U.S.C. 3, 4 (a/k/a the Federal Arbitration Act) to dismiss plaintiff’s sexual harassment complaint and to compel arbitration. Plaintiff, an account manager at NBC…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Dismissed Pursuant to NBC Universal’s Mediation/Arbitration Program
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It is an unfortunate reality that many employment discrimination cases are dismissed. These cases are often difficult to prove, and success requires navigating a path riddled with hurdles, ranging from statutes of limitation, to proper pleading, to dismissal on summary judgment following the completion of discovery. A recent example is Edwards v. N.Y. State Office of…

Read More Court Dismisses Born Again Christian’s Employment Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, and Retaliation Claims
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In Morshed v. St. Barnabas Hosp., No. 16 CIV. 2862 (LGS), 2017 WL 543236 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 10, 2017), the court overruled defendants’ claims that ten documents were “privileged under the self-critical analysis privilege, peer review privilege and quality assurance privileges.”[1]Specifically, defendants asserted the following as grounds for their assertion of privilege: Rule 501 of the…

Read More Court Overrules Defendants’ Claims of Privilege in Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Case
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In Lorber v. Jacob Lew, No. 15-cv-9995, 2017 WL 633446 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 15, 2017) (J. Kimba M. Wood), the court dismissed (for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)) plaintiff’s gender-based hostile work environment claim, but stayed its decision on defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Title VII sexual orientation discrimination claim (which…

Read More SDNY Dismisses Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim; Stays Ruling on Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination (Stereotyping) Claim Pending Second Circuit Rulings
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In Arifi v. Cent. Moving & Storage Co., No. 159334/12, 2017 WL 628321 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 16, 2017), the court affirmed the lower court’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s age discrimination claims. From the decision: In moving for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s claims for age-based employment discrimination under…

Read More Age Discrimination Claims Properly Dismissed; Suspicion of Theft Was a Legitimate, Nondiscriminatory, Non-Pretextual Reason for Termination
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In Prophete-Camille v. Stericycle, Inc., No. 14-CV-7268(JS)(AKT), 2017 WL 570769 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 13, 2017), the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sexual harassment/hostile work environment claim. With respect to the issue of whether the workplace was sufficiently “hostile”, the court explained: The Court finds that Plaintiff has raised issues of fact on her…

Read More Sexual Harassment (Hostile Work Environment) Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Sexual Comments and References to Sexual Acts, Sexual Relationship
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In Ruiz v. Lenox Hill Hosp., No. 160377/15, 2017 WL 213802 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 19, 2017), the First Department affirmed (in part) a lower court’s decision addressing plaintiff’s claims under New York’s general and health-care whistleblower laws (N.Y. Labor Law §§ 740 and 741) Here are plaintiff’s allegations, as summarized by the court:…

Read More Surgeon’s Whistleblower Claim Survives Dismissal
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Happy Valentine’s Day! While this holiday of (ahem) love may bring back fond memories of grade-school card and candy swapping, it’s important to remember that bringing romance into the workplace – even (or maybe especially) on Valentine’s Day – presents risks, most notably of a sexual harassment/hostile work environment lawsuit. Consider, for example, the case of Pugni…

Read More Valentine’s Day and the Workplace
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In In the Matter of Shannon Scheuneman v. NYS Div. of Human Rights and Town of Tonawanda, No. TP 16-00820, 2017 WL 539266 (N.Y. App. Div. 4th Dept. Feb. 10, 2017), the Appellate Division unanimously confirmed, under N.Y. Executive Law § 298, a determination by the New York State Division of Human Rights that the…

Read More Allegation of “Anti-Female Bias” Insufficient to Overturn State Division of Human Rights Dismissal of Gender Discrimination Claim
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In Chernov v. Securities Training Corp., 2017 NY Slip Op 00126 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 10, 2017), an employment (disability) discrimination case, the Appellate Division, First Department unanimously reversed a lower court’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint. From the decision: Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to plaintiff, the…

Read More Disability Discrimination Claims Revived in Light of Fact Issues as to Whether Employer Should Have Known of Disabling Anxiety Condition
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