Sadly, George H.W. Bush – the 41st President of the United States – died on November 30, 2018. One of his accomplishments was his signing into law the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 USC § 12101 et seq., on July 26, 1990. The ADA – which was amended/overhauled in 2008 – is a significant…
Read More RIP George H.W. Bush, Signer of the Americans with Disabilities ActIn Ferraro v. New York City Department of Education, 2018 WL 5881663 (2d Cir. Nov. 9, 2018) (Summary Order), the court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s claims of disability discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City…
Read More Employment Discrimination Claims Collaterally Estopped by Findings at 3020-a Hearing, Court HoldsIn A. Anonymous v. Mount Sinai Hospital, 2018 WL 4567945, 2018 NY Slip Op 06212 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. Sept. 25, 2018), the Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed the Supreme Court’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s disability discrimination claim under the New York City Human Rights Law. Central to the court’s…
Read More Citing Lack of Knowledge of HIV, First Department Affirms Dismissal of Disability Discrimination ClaimIn a recent decision, Wolfinger v. Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc., 17-cv-1710, 2018 WL 3637964 (E.D.N.Y. July 31, 2018), the court, inter alia, explained and clarified what, exactly, a plaintiff must allege to sufficiently plead a failure-to-accommodate claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court explained: A plaintiff bringing a failure-to-accommodate claim…
Read More Court Clarifies “Failure to Accommodate Disability” Employment Discrimination Claim: Wolfinger v. ConEdIn a recently-filed lawsuit, captioned Jung v. Soho House, NY Sup Ct. NY Cty. Index No. 155882/2018 (filed June 22, 2018), plaintiff Hyun Jae Jung (known on Instagram as Miju Bijou) alleges, inter alia, that defendant Soho House’s “employees denied access of the Club to Plaintiff and her emotional support animal” – a French bulldog named…
Read More Lawsuit: Public Accommodation Discrimination Claim Against Soho House Following Support Dog-Based EjectionIn Valentine v. Brain & Spine Surgeons of New York, P.C., 17-cv-2275, 2018 WL 1871175 (S.D.N.Y. April 16, 2018), the court denied in part defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Plaintiff alleged, in sum, that defendant violated the ADA by firing her several days after she returned…
Read More Failure to Accommodate Disability Claim Survives Dismissal [Valentine v. Brain & Spine Surgeons of New York, P.C.]In Best v. Duane Reade, Inc. (2d Cir. 17-380 March 22, 2018) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate, discrimination, and retaliation claims under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Here is the legal standard:[1]As usual, citations are omitted. ADA claims are analyzed under the burden-shifting framework established for discrimination claims:…
Read More Disability Discrimination Claims Properly Dismissed Against Duane ReadeIn Allen v. A.R.E.B.A. Casriel, Inc., 2017 WL 4046127 (S.D.N.Y., 2017), the court held that plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate-disability claim survived summary judgment.[1]The court dismissed, however, plaintiff’s claims of age and race discrimination. From the decision: Defendants concede that Plaintiff was disabled and that ACI was aware of Plaintiff’s macular degeneration. (Def. 56.1 ¶ 25). Defendants argue they…
Read More Failure to Accommodate Disability (Macular Degeneration) Claim Survives Summary JudgmentThe term “reasonable accommodation” has a specific meaning in employment law. It arises in the context of disability discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, and religious discrimination. Here I will discuss its meaning in the context of disability discrimination by an employer against an employee or job applicant. The Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.…
Read More What Is a “Reasonable Accommodation” For a “Disability”?In Ivankovskaya v. Metro. Transportation Auth. Bus Co., No. 15-cv-5727, 2017 WL 3328166 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 3, 2017), the court dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Plaintiff worked as a bus operator for the MTA Bus Company. After being diagnosed with a disc herniation, she requested a “reasonable accommodation”…
Read More ADA Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; Yelling Insufficient