In Ramirez v. NYP Holdings, Inc., 18-cv-12058, 2020 WL 470011 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 29, 2020), the court held, inter alia, that plaintiff sufficiently alleged a hostile work environment claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the decision: Plaintiff has alleged that, throughout his time working at the Printing Center he was…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Sufficiently Alleged by Hispanic PlaintiffIn recent news, it has been reported that a bank called the police on a black Michigan man because it suspected fraud, upon his attempt to deposit checks – resulting from the settlement of a racial discrimination lawsuit. He is now suing the bank for engaging in race discrimination in a place of public accommodation.
Read More Ironic Lawsuit Against BankIn Boyce-Herbert v. New York and Presbyterian Hospital, 2020 WL 376788 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 23, 2020), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s employment discrimination claims.[1]Initially, the court held that plaintiff’s discrimination claims were time-barred, but addressed the merits of plaintiff’s claims in an “abundance of caution.” The court listed the elements that a plaintiff must demonstrate in…
Read More Age/Race/Gender/Religious Discrimination Claims Dismissed Against NY and Presbyterian HospitalIn some cases, displays of racially- and/or sexually-charged content (e.g., videos) at work might be evidence of actionable employment discrimination. That is, of course, not an ironclad rule. Consider, for example, the recent case of Johnson v. IAC/InterActiveCorp, 2020 NY Slip Op 00488 (NY App. Div. 1st Dept. Jan. 23, 2020), in which the New York Appellate…
Read More “Offensive” Content Shown at Work Insufficient to Demonstrate Disparate Treatment, Court HoldsToday we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated in 1968. It is impossible to capture here the breadth and power of Dr. King’s words, actions, and life. His 1963 Letter From a Birmingham Jail (see also here) remains one of the most important documents in U.S. history. Its words –…
Read More Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2020In Fleurentin v. New York City Health & Hospitals Corp. et al, 18-cv-05004, 2020 WL 42841 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 3, 2020), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. In this case, in sum, plaintiff – a Haitian man – alleged that “over the course of a decade the defendants repeatedly discriminated against him…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; Santa Claus Role Denial (etc.) InsufficientFrom JASMINE BROWN, Plaintiff, v. MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER, et al., Defendants., 2019 WL 6878214 (S.D.N.Y., 2019): In my Opinion & Order, I observed that Defendant offered two non-discriminatory reasons “for Plaintiff’s termination: (1) Plaintiff’s act of working shifts during the leave she had been granted on December 5 and 6, 2013; and (2) Plaintiff’s failure…
Read More Court Denies Motion for Reconsideration of Summary Judgment Denial in Race Discrimination CaseIn Wiggins v. The Garden City Golf Club, 2019 WL 6716750 (EDNY Dec. 10, 2019), the court, inter alia, held that plaintiff did not make out a race-based hostile work environment claim. Plaintiff (who is black), who worked for defendant as a caddy, claimed that he was subject to discrimination when a white employee placed…
Read More Race Discrimination Claim Dismissed; “Crude” etc. Conduct Was Not DiscriminatoryIn Ellison v. Chartis Claims, Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 08654 (App. Div. 2d Dept. Dec. 4, 2019), the court, inter alia, affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s race discrimination claim. The court summarized the law of discrimination under the New York City Human Rights Law: Under the NYCHRL, unlawful discrimination must play “no role” in…
Read More Court Affirms Dismissal of NYCHRL Discrimination ClaimIn Francis v. Kings Park Manor, Inc., No. 15-1823-cv, 2019 WL 6646495 (2d Cir. Dec. 6, 2019), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit resurrected plaintiff’s claims of race discrimination (under, inter alia, the Fair Housing Act), arising from plaintiff’s being subjected, by his next-door neighbor, to “a brazen and relentless campaign of…
Read More Fair Housing Act Covers Tenant-on-Tenant Racial Harassment, 2d Circuit Holds