Hostile Work Environment

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A Nassau County trial court recently held, in DeMay v. Wheatley Hills Golf Club, Inc., that plaintiff presented enough evidence to proceed on her gender discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation, and aiding and abetting claims under the New York State Human Rights Law, NY Executive Law § 296(1)(a). Plaintiff Toni DeMay, the former General Manager of…

Read More Court Finds in Favor of Female Manager Against Country Club on Gender Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
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News recently broke about a man, William Iglesias, who was arrested for secretly recording female employees in the bathroom of photography studio Foto Y Video Alexander in Brentwood. You can read about the story here and here. I previously wrote about a case, Hughes v. Pacienza, involving similar conduct. There, the court granted plaintiff Hughes…

Read More Toilet-Spy Boss: Deja Vu?
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‘Tis the season for company holiday parties, where the awkward mingling with co-workers and the free flow of alcohol can combine to create uncomfortable and humiliating social situations and, in some cases, possible legal liability for discrimination and harassment. Despite various warnings about maintaining professionalism, it seems that every year there are people who embarrass themselves…

Read More Company Holiday Parties, Professionalism, and Discrimination/Sexual Harassment
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In Meadors v. Ulster County, the Northern District of New York held in favor of plaintiffs, county corrections officers, on various employment discrimination claims. Here we summarize the court’s holdings on plaintiffs’ sexual harassment, disparate treatment, retaliation, and pregnancy discrimination claims. Hostile Work Environment The court held that plaintiffs presented “barely” just enough evidence to survive…

Read More Court Rules in Favor of Corrections Employees on Sexual Harassment, Sex Discrimination, Retaliation, and Pregnancy Discrimination Claims
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In Smith v. Town of Hempstead Dept. of Sanitation Sanitary District No. 2, decided November 16, 2013, the Eastern District of New York discussed the application of the Supreme Court’s recent Nassar decision in the context of a summary judgment motion.   Nassar modified the standard for proving retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of…

Read More Plaintiff Presented Sufficient Evidence of Retaliation to Survive Summary Judgment Under New “But For” Causation Standard
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Here is the complaint recently filed in New York state court by plaintiffs Jeanette Grullon, Jenny Mejia, and Sandra Pozo against Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services, Inc. Plaintiff allege that they were “sexually harassed by their African-American male supervisor at Catholic Charities, where they were employed. When they complained about the sexual harassment, they were intimidated and accused…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services
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In Kennington v. 226 Realty LLC, the court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ complaint alleging sexual harassment and age discrimination. Although the court held only that the plaintiffs state a claim for relief (without determining the ultimate issue of liability), this case is instructive as to how to plead discrimination claims under the New…

Read More Plaintiffs Sufficiently Alleged Sexual Harassment and Age Discrimination Claims Under the New York City Human Rights Law
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Recently, in Cajamarca v. Regal Entertainment Group, the New York Supreme Court (NY County) dismissed plaintiff’s sexual harassment and related claims arising from the alleged conduct of her co-worker (Gadsden). In this “pure” hostile work environment case (i.e., one in which plaintiff did not suffer a “tangible employment action”), plaintiff alleged that shortly after Gadsden…

Read More Theater Not Strictly Liable for Sexual Harassment by Co-Worker; Masturbation in Plaintiff’s Presence Did Not Constitute Assault
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Below and here is the complaint recently filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York by sewer maintenance worker Lisa Sprada against her employer, the Town of Cheektowaga. (News coverage here and here.) The case is captioned Sprada v. Town of Cheektowaga, WDNY 13-00985. Plaintiff alleges that upon transferring into her…

Read More Female Sewer Maintenance Worker’s Sexual Harassment Lawsuit
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A recent Second Circuit decision, Albert-Roberts v. GGG Construction (Summary Order), illustrates that the workplace utterance of even the most arguably vile racial slur (“nigger”) is not necessarily sufficient to support a hostile work environment claim. Plaintiff, who was employed by GGG as a part-time, nighttime office cleaner, alleged that she was subjected to a hostile…

Read More Co-Worker’s Use of Racial Slur Did Not Support Hostile Work Environment Claim; Timing of Outsourcing Decision Resulted in Dismissal of Retaliation Claim
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