Today the U.S. Supreme Court decided, in Vance v. Ball State University, which employees are “supervisors” within the meaning of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. I previously wrote about the case here. Whether the alleged discriminator/harasser is the plaintiff’s “supervisor” or “co-worker” is critical: Under Title VII, an employer’s liability for ……
Read More U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Who Is A Title VII “Supervisor”A case recently decided by the Eastern District of New York, Smith v NYC Health and Hosp Corp., 10-cv-714 (EDNY June 18, 2013), illustrates the somewhat difficult task faced by employment discrimination plaintiffs and confirms that not all workplace adversity is actionable. In short, the law does not impose a “general civility code which prohibits all…
Read More Court Rejects Plaintiff’s Hostile Work Environment and Retaliation ClaimsBelow is the sexual harassment and race discrimination complaint filed by plaintiff Elizabeth Shiflett against Scores Holding Company last Friday. She sues under Title VII and the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. This is one of the relatively few cases in which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) found reasonable cause to believe…
Read More Sexual Harassment Complaint Against ScoresBelow is the complaint, captioned Burhans and Rivera v. Lopez and Silver, 13 CIV 3870, filed in the Southern District of New York by Victoria Burhans and Chloe Rivera against (former) Assemblyman Vito Lopez and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Plaintiffs allege violations of the Fourteenth Amendment (through 42 U.S.C. § 1983), the New York State Human…
Read More Federal Sexual Harassment Complaint Against Vito Lopez and Sheldon SilverA recent New York trial court decision again underscores the breadth of the New York City Human Rights Law. The case is Davis v. Phoenix Ancient Art, decided April 22, 2013. There, plaintiff Emily Davis alleged that she was subjected to sexual harassment and constructively discharged. Plaintiff’s allegations: [I]n September 2010, while at an art…
Read More NYC Human Rights Law Claims Continue, While State Human Rights Law Claims FailA federal court last week struck down an employment discrimination defendant’s attempt to obtain broad-ranging discovery from plaintiff in her Title VII gender discrimination, hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and retaliation case. The court’s decision in Kennedy v. Contract Pharmaceutical Corp. is here. Social Media Document Requests Social media is everywhere, and much has been written on…
Read More Court Rejects Defendants’ Attempts to Obtain Social Media Discovery From Discrimination PlaintiffIn employment discrimination law, the phrase “hostile work environment” has a very specific meaning that does not encompass all circumstances that the word “hostile” might suggest. Courts repeatedly say, for example, that the employment laws do not provide a “general civility code” for the workplace. In addition, as set forth below, in order to be actionable, the…
Read More What is a “Hostile Work Environment”?If you feel you are being singled out, bullied, or harassed at work because of one or more protected characteristics – such as your sex, age, race, sexual orientation, or disability – you may feel powerless and confused about what to do and how to proceed. If so, you should keep the following information in…
Read More What Should I Do If I Think I’m Being Harassed at Work?In Malik v. American International Group, Inc., the Supreme Court, Queens County denied defendants’ summary judgment motions regarding a number of plaintiff’s claims, including sexual harassment (quid pro quo and hostile work environment), race discrimination, and disability discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law. Time Bar and Continuing Violation Doctrine Defendants argued that plaintiff’s claims…
Read More Issues of Fact Preclude Summary Judgment for Defendant on Sex, Race, and Disability Discrimination ClaimsThe New York State Division of Human Rights recently awarded substantial damages to a corrections officer who alleged that she suffered a hostile work environment and that her supervisor turned a blind eye to what was going on. The recommended findings of fact, opinion and decision, and order in Lora Abbott Seabury v. Rensselaer County et…
Read More Supervisor’s Inaction Leads to Substantial Award for Victim of Sexual Harassment