In a recent lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court (captioned Harwell v. Consolidated Edison Co. of NY, 15-cv-08511 (SDNY filed 10/28/15), plaintiff (an African American woman) asserts, among other things, that she was subjected to race discrimination, gender discrimination, and a hostile work environment by her employer, Con Ed.
Read More Race/Gender Discrimination, Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Con EdisonFile this one under “What were they thinking?!?”. When the facts of an employment discrimination case include the terms “Hitler video” and “mandatory conference”, it isn’t difficult to predict how the case is going to turn out. In Orlando v. BNP Paribas N. Am., Inc., No. 14 CIV. 4102 AJP, 2015 WL 6387531 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 22,…
Read More Hitler/Nazi “Training Video” Supports Hostile Work Environment Claims Under New York State and City Human Rights LawsIn Minckler v. UPS, 2015 WL 6510537 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. Oct. 29, 2015), an upstate appellate court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s sexual harassment/hostile work environment and retaliation claims against her former employer UPS, but held that her claim for assault and battery could continue against a co-worker. The Facts Plaintiff, a UPS administrative…
Read More “Uncivil and Crude” Comments Did Not Amount to Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment at UPSIn Husser v. New York City Dep’t of Educ., No. 12-CV-6095 MKB JO, 2015 WL 5774741 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2015), plaintiff alleged that defendants willfully failed to pay her wages equal to those paid to men for equal work, retaliated against her, and subjected her to a hostile work environment. The court adopted the Magistrate Judge’s Report…
Read More Gender Pay Discrimination and Retaliation, But Not Hostile Work Environment, Claims Survive Summary JudgmentIn Irons v. Bedford-Stuyvesant Cmty. Legal Servs., No. 13-CV-4467 MKB, 2015 WL 5692860 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2015), the court dismissed a male plaintiff’s claims of sexual harassment/hostile work environment, gender discrimination, and retaliation. Here I’ll discuss one aspect of the case – namely, the court’s decision to grant defendants summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims of…
Read More Court Dismisses Male Employee’s Sex Discrimination ClaimsIn Parker v. Workmen’s Circle Ctr. of the Bronx, Inc., No. 14CV5327-LTS, 2015 WL 5710511 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2015), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged her gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and hostile work environment claims. The Facts The court summarized plaintiff’s allegations, as set forth in her federal complaint, as…
Read More Retaliation, Hostile Work Environment, Gender Discrimination Claims Sufficiently Alleged Against Workmen’s Circle Center of the BronxIn a recent lawsuit, Kaplan-DiNola v. NYC Dept. of Education, 15-cv-8139 (SDNY filed 10/16/15), elementary school teacher Rosanne Kaplan-DiNola alleges that she is a homosexual female who “has been forced to work in an environment of blatant homophobia and discrimination perpetrated by her immediate supervisors.” She alleges, for example, that defendants berated her for her…
Read More Teacher’s Sexual Orientation Discrimination Lawsuit Against NYC Dept. of EducationThe court’s decision in Varughese v. Mount Sinai Med. Ctr., No. 12 CIV. 8812 CM JCF, 2015 WL 1499618 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 27, 2015) provides an example of what circumstances will not give rise to an actionable hostile work environment claim. From the decision: In the end, [d]etermining whether workplace harassment was severe or pervasive enough to be actionable…
Read More Court Dismisses Doctor’s Race, Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment Claims Against Mt. SinaiIn a recently-filed lawsuit, captioned Termini v. B&A Pork Store Inc., Robert Brannigan, and James Brannigan (15-cv-5716, EDNY filed 10/2/5), plaintiff alleges that while employed by B&A Pork Store in Brooklyn, she was subjected to sexual harassment/hostile work environment and retaliation for rejecting sexual advances. She alleges that the store’s owner, “RB”, fired her because…
Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Brooklyn Pork StoreIn a recent lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court, captioned Germain v. David Bouley LLC et al (Index No. 160184/2015, filed 10/2/15), plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to a hostile work environment based on sex and constructive discharge in violation of the NYS and NYC Human Rights Laws. Among other things, plaintiff…
Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against David Bouley