Today marks the 53rd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s landmark (unanimous) decision in Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967) (J. Warren), in which the Court held that Virginia’s “anti-miscegenation statutes” – laws prohibiting marriages between persons solely on the basis of race – violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth…
Read More Loving v. Virginia: Happy (53rd) AnniversaryIn Rivera v. JP Morgan Chase, 2020 WL 2787622 (2d Cir. May 29, 2020) (Summary Order), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, inter alia, affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s race- and national origin-based hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the decision: To state…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissal Affirmed; Insufficient Details AllegedIn Moultry v. Rockland Psychiatric Center, 2020 WL 2765870 (SDNY May 28, 2020) (J. Roman), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim of constructive discharge. From the decision: A “[c]onstructive discharge of an employee occurs when an employer, rather than directly discharging an individual, intentionally creates an intolerable work atmosphere that…
Read More Constructive Discharge Claim Sufficiently Alleged Against Rockland Psychiatric CenterIn Williams v. County of Nassau, 2020 WL 2703675 (2d Cir. May 26, 2020)) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit, inter alia, affirmed the lower court ‘s summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. From the decision: [T]he existence of the carvings at issue, though highly offensive, were not under the specific circumstances here…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Dismissal Affirmed; Alleged Racist Etchings InsufficientIn Pardovani v. Crown Building Maintenance Co., 2020 WL 2555280 (SDNY May 20, 2020), the court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s race-based hostile work environment claim. From the decision: Pardovani offers evidence to suggest that, far from an occasional occurrence, the word “nigger,” and derivations thereof, were used frequently and offensively in…
Read More Race-Based Hostile Work Environment Claims Survive; Evidence Included the Use of the “N-Word”In Campbell v. Bottling Group, LLC, 2020 WL 2563100 (2d Cir. May 21, 2020) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit, inter alia, affirmed the district court’s dismissal (summary judgment) on plaintiff’s race-based hostile work environment claim. The court summarized the well-established black-letter law relating to hostile work environment claims: To establish a claim for hostile work…
Read More Race-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim Properly Dismissed; “Stink” Comment InsufficientIn Taylor v. Dollar Tree Stores, 2020 WL 2478663 (EDNY May 13, 2020), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s race- and national origin-based hostile work environment claims. From the decision: Taylor’s allegations about his co-workers, including that they verbally abused him cannot be the basis of a hostile work environment claim, because there is an…
Read More Race/National Origin-Based Hostile Work Environment Claims Dismissed Against Dollar Tree StoresIn Golston-Green v. City of New York, et al., No. 2016-02462, 28117/09, 2020 N.Y. Slip Op. 02768, 2020 WL 2462411 (N.Y.A.D. 2 Dept., May 13, 2020), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s claim of discrimination under the New York City Human Rights Law. This decision is instructive as to the differences between the New York State Human…
Read More Court Clarifies Standard for “Adverse Employment Action” Under the NYC Human Rights LawIn Johnson v. City of New York, 2020 WL 2036708 (S.D.N.Y. April 28, 2020), the court, inter alia, granted defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s race discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. On the race discrimination claim,…
Read More Firefighter’s Race Discrimination Claims Dismissed; Comments Were “Stray Remarks”In Colbert v. FSA Store, Inc., Health E-Commerce, and Jeremy Miller, 2020 WL 1989404 (SDNY April 27, 2020), the court, inter alia, held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged race discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, SEction 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the New York State and City…
Read More Race Discrimination Complaint Survives Dismissal; Allegations Included “Coded Racial Comments”