In Carris v. First Student, Inc., 15-3350 (2d Cir. March 8, 2017) (summary order), the Second Circuit vacated the dismissal of plaintiff’s Title VII race discrimination claim. The law: To survive a motion to dismiss, a Title VII plaintiff does not have to plead a full prima facie case pursuant to the first stage of…
Read More 2d Circuit Vacates Title VII Race Discrimination Claim DismissalThe Southern District of New York’s recent decision in McCray v. Project Renewal, Inc., 15-cv-8494, 2017 WL 715010 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2017) (Judge Caproni) serves as another reminder of the procedural hurdles that must be overcome in order to assert an employment discrimination claim in federal court. Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, sued his former employer, Defendant Project Renewal,…
Read More Court Dismisses ADA Disability Discrimination Claim as Unexhausted, Title VII Race Discrimination Claim as Insufficiently PledIn Morshed v. St. Barnabas Hosp., No. 16 CIV. 2862 (LGS), 2017 WL 543236 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 10, 2017), the court overruled defendants’ claims that ten documents were “privileged under the self-critical analysis privilege, peer review privilege and quality assurance privileges.”[1]Specifically, defendants asserted the following as grounds for their assertion of privilege: Rule 501 of the…
Read More Court Overrules Defendants’ Claims of Privilege in Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment CaseIn United States v. N.Y. City Dep’t of Educ., No. 16-cv-4291, 2017 WL 435940 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 31, 2017), an employment (race) discrimination case asserted by New York City teachers, the court recommended that defendants’ motion to dismiss be granted and denied in part. The plaintiff-teachers alleged that the principal of Pan American International High School (PAIHS),…
Read More Court Cites and Applies the Doctrine of “Constructive Involuntary Transfer” in Teachers’ Race Discrimination Case Against the New York City Department of EducationIn Underwood v. Roswell Park Cancer Inst., No. 15-CV-684-FPG, 2017 WL 131740 (W.D.N.Y. Jan. 13, 2017), the court held that the plaintiff – an African American surgeon – plausibly alleged that he was subjected to a racially hostile work environment. “To state a claim for a racially hostile work environment, a plaintiff must plead facts…
Read More African American Surgeon Plausibly Alleges a Racially Hostile Work EnvironmentIn Offor v. Mercy Medical Center, No. 16-839, 2017 WL 253616 (2d Cir. Jan. 20, 2017) (Summary Order), the court vacated the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) dismissal of plaintiff’s Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) retaliation claim, but affirmed the dismissal of her Title VII race and national origin discrimination claim. From the Order:…
Read More 2d Circuit Vacates Dismissal of FMLA Retaliation Claim, But Affirms Dismissal of Race/National Origin Discrimination ClaimHere is the recently-filed lawsuit, captioned Springs v. City of New York et al (SDNY 17-cv-00451), in which a black firefighter alleges that he endured sexual hazing and race discrimination. Among other things, plaintiff alleges that one defendant told him “I don’t like you … blacks getting on the job this way. You don’t have good…
Read More Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Hazing and Race Discrimination at NY Fire Dept.In Zhao-Royo v. New York State Educ. Dept., 14-CV-0935, 2017 WL 149981 (N.D.N.Y. Jan. 13, 2017), the court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s employment discrimination claims. As to her disparate treatment claim, it concluded that plaintiff “failed to identify circumstances justifying an inference that [alleged] incidents were actually related to Plaintiff’s…
Read More Court Dismisses Disparate Treatment Employment Discrimination Claim; Finds Comparator Evidence Insufficient and No Connection Between Brusque/Rude/Unfriendly Conduct and Protected StatusToday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that marks the birthday of the civil rights leader, who was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Dr. King was present when President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law that prohibits discrimination in (e.g.) employment (Title VII) and public…
Read More Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.In Green v. Avis Budget Grp., Inc., No. 11-CV-00269V(F), 2017 WL 35452 (W.D.N.Y. Jan. 4, 2017), the court dismissed plaintiff’s employment discrimination (disparate treatment), hostile work environment, and retaliation claims. Here I’ll discuss the court’s evaluation of the “adverse employment action” element of the prima facie case[1]“To establish a prima facie case of employment discrimination…
Read More Criticism of Work, Failure to Provide Desired Schedule (Etc.) Were Not “Adverse Employment Actions”