National Origin Discrimination

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In Feliciano v. City of New York, No. 14 CIV. 6751 PAE, 2015 WL 4393163 (S.D.N.Y. July 15, 2015), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff, a Hispanic Lieutenant employed by the New York City Sheriff’s Department, sufficiently alleged a prima facie case of discriminatory failure to promote based on race and national origin…

Read More Lieutenant Sufficiently Alleges Discriminatory Failure to Promote and (Limited) Retaliation Claim
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In Aiola v. Malverne Union Free Sch. Dist., No. 15-CV-064 ADS GRB, 2015 WL 4276187 (E.D.N.Y. July 13, 2015), the court (among other rulings) dismissed plaintiff’s national origin (Italian) discrimination and hostile work environment claims on the pleadings. The court explained: [Plaintiff’s] Amended Complaint contains only one allegation relating to the Plaintiff’s national origin, namely,…

Read More “Costa Concordia Captain” Reference Insufficient to Support National Origin (Italian) Discrimination Claim
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The recent Southern District of New York case of Amar v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corp., 14-cv-2503 (SDNY June 15, 2015) is instructive on pleading a hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Amar, Judge Ramos held that the plaintiff, an African American woman employed by defendant as…

Read More Asserted Racial Epithets and Physical Threats Plausibly Allege Racially Hostile Work Environment
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A recent decision, DeLaurencio v. Brooklyn Children’s Center, Superintendent (EDNY May 29, 2015), reiterates that Title VII is not a “general civility code” and that “[w]ork environments that are hostile for non-discriminatory reasons do not fall within the ambit of Title VII.” In this case, the court held that none of the allegations in plaintiff’s…

Read More Employment Discrimination / Hostile Work Environment Allegations Amounting to Rude Conduct Unmotivated by Discriminatory Animus Fail to State a Claim
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Here is the employment discrimination complaint, captioned Miller v. Zara USA, Dilip Patel, and Moises Costas Rodriguez, filed in Supreme Court, NY County (Index No. 155512-2015), on June 3, 2015. In it, Zara’s former in-house counsel, Ian Jack Miller, asserts various claims, including religion-based discrimination, national origin discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, and retaliation.

Read More Employment Discrimination Lawsuit Against Zara
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In Petyan v. New York City Law Dept., 14-cv-1434, 2015 WL 1855961 (SDNY April 23, 2015), the court recommended the dismissal of plaintiff’s national origin (Israeli) discrimination and hostile work environment claims, but held that plaintiff plausibly alleged retaliation in the form of a negative performance evaluation. The court held: The law in [the Second] Circuit…

Read More Retaliation Claim, But Not National Origin Discrimination Claim, Survives Dismissal
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“To make out a prima facie [employment] discrimination claim [under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964], a plaintiff must demonstrate … (1) [he] was within the protected class; (2) [he] was qualified for the position; (3) [he] was subject to an adverse employment action; and (4) the adverse action occurred under circumstances giving…

Read More Second Circuit Clarifies What an “Adverse Employment Action” Is For Purposes of a Discrimination Claim
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Here is the complaint, captioned Matthew Luke v. Al Jazeera America and Osman Mahmud, NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Index No. 154219-2015 (Apr. 28, 2015), filed against news organization Al Jazeera and others. Plaintiff alleges that defendants retaliated against him after he opposed defendant Mahmud’s discriminatory acts against his colleagues on the basis of their gender,…

Read More Discrimination Lawsuit Against Al Jazeera America
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In Derrick v. American Intl. Group, Inc. (App. Div. 1st Dept. March 19, 2015), the Appellate Division, First Department reversed the lower court’s order granting defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint and denying plaintiff’s motion to amend her complaint. In this case, plaintiff asserts claims for race, national origin, and gender discrimination and harassment. Citing NY…

Read More Adverse Unemployment Decision Does Not Preclude Discrimination Claims, Court Holds
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A recent Southern District of New York decision, Daniel v. T&M Protection Resources LLC (SDNY 13-cv-4384, Feb. 19, 2015), illustrates that even conduct that rises to the level of what may be considered “crude” and “contemptible” may not be (and, in this case, was not) enough to survive summary judgment on a Title VII hostile…

Read More Court Explains That Even “Crude and Contemptible” Conduct May Not Rise to the Level of a Hostile Work Environment
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