Hostile Work Environment

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New York City skyline with Empire State Building New York City skyline with Empire State Building

By now you may have read the open letter by SoHo bartender Laura Ramadei to customer/hedge funder Brian Lederman, chronicling an unpleasant encounter in which Lederman allegedly groped Ms. Ramadei while she was waiting on him and then left her a paltry tip because she rejected his amorous advances. Here’s the Gothamist article about the incident.…

Read More Sexual Harassment by Non-Employee Customers, Clients, and Patrons
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In Johnson v. City University of New York, decided Sept. 8, 2014, the Southern District of New York once again clarified that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit bullying and harassment that is unconnected with legally-protected characteristics. The court’s first paragraph summarizes the law nicely: Bullying and harassment have no…

Read More “Bullying” and “Harassment” Unconnected to Membership in a Protected Class Not Actionable Under Title VII
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In Valleriani v. Route 390 Nissan (filed Sept. 2, 2014), the Western District of New York denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s gender-based hostile work environment claim: [T]o constitute gender discrimination in the form of a hostile work environment, the conduct directed at Plaintiff had to be based on her gender. Here, the incidents…

Read More Content, Rather Than Motivation, for Sexually Offensive Language is Relevant in Hostile Work Environment Case, According to Court
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In a recently-filed complaint, five plaintiffs allege that they were subject to discrimination and a hostile work environment based on their race and disabilities while employed by Levy Premium Foodservice Limited Partnership, which provides food and catering services for Brooklyn Events Center, d/b/a Barclays Center. Plaintiffs (who are black) allege that defendants subjected plaintiffs to…

Read More Lawsuit Alleging Race and Disability Discrimination Against Barclays Center
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In Shafer v. The American University in Cairo, plaintiff – a tenure-track Assistant Professor – alleged that she was subjected to a hostile work environment, demoted, and discriminated against relative to tenure as a result of her identity as a white American Muslim woman, and then retaliated against for complaining about discrimination.  The court granted summary judgment to defendants…

Read More Retaliation, But Not Religious Discrimination, Claims Continue Against American University in Cairo
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According to a lawsuit filed earlier this year, the male executives at Archie Comics behaved more like Reggie Mantle than Archie Andrews. Plaintiffs – several female employees – allege that various male executives humiliated, harassed, bullied, and intimidated female employees because of their gender and their support of co-CEO Nancy Seiberkleit. They further allege that “Archie Comics is…

Read More Lawsuit Alleges Gender Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, and Retaliation at Archie Comics
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In Moll v. Telesector Resources Group, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in a July 24, 2014 decision) vacated the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s sex-based hostile work environment claim. Plaintiff alleged, inter alia: [I]n 1998 and 1999, Daniel Irving, a Senior Systems Analyst, left Moll three inappropriate notes. And in 1999,…

Read More Non-Sexual Comments Can Still Give Rise to a Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment, Second Circuit Holds
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One way to prove discrimination is by introducing evidence of negative comments pertaining to the plaintiff’s protected class or about others in the plaintiff’s protected class. But what if some, or all, of the derogatory comments are not directly perceived by the harassment victim? That is one of the issues addressed by the Southern District…

Read More Secondhand “Incendiary” Comments Regarding Sexual Orientation Sufficient to State Hostile Work Environment Claim
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Here is the complaint filed on August 8, 2014 against Urban Outfitters. Plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to sexual harassment by customers and store personnel, constructive discharge, and retaliation. (Update: In a June 9, 2015 decision, the court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss.) From her complaint: From the beginning of Plaintiff’s employment, Defendant [], despite being…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Urban Outfitters
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In Lozada v. Elmont Fire Dept., decided July 22, 2014, the New York State Division of Human Rights found that complainant, volunteer firefighter Beatrie Lozada, was subjected to a sexually hostile work environment in violation of the New York State Human Rights Law. It dismissed, however, her claims that she was subject to discrimination based on…

Read More “Badonkadonk” Sexual Harassment Results in $60,000 Award to Volunteer Firefighter
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