As 2016 draws to a close, I’d like to take a brief moment to reflect on the past year. Cases We have continued to fight on behalf of our clients in employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal injury matters. Cases we have handled this year include: Sexual harassment ($500,000 settlement) Disability discrimination and retaliation ($30,000…
Read More Pospis Law Year in Review: 2016In Nadesan v. Citizens Fin. Grp., No. 16-942-CV, 2016 WL 7177496 (2d Cir. Dec. 8, 2016) (Summary Order; Judges Livingston, Chin, Carney), the court clarified the scope of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, a federal statute that prohibits certain forms of discrimination. Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 provides, in pertinent part: All persons…
Read More 2d Circuit Clarifies Scope of Race Discrimination Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1981In order to hold an employer liable for a hostile work environment, a plaintiff needs to establish two elements: The existence of a hostile work environment (i.e., sufficiently “hostile” conduct connected a protected characteristic); and A specific basis for imputing the hostile work environment to the employer (vicarious liability). A recent case, Ward v. Shaddock, No.…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Created by Co-Worker Not Imputable to Entity EmployerFrom Matter of Khan v. N.Y. City Health & Hosps. Corp., 144 A.D.3d 600 (N.Y. App. Div. 1st Dept. Nov. 29, 2016): The termination of petitioner’s appointment as Director of Pharmacy did not violate a constitutional or statutory provision or a policy established by decisional law (see Matter of Bergamini v. Manhattan & Bronx Surface…
Read More Pharmacy Director’s Race, Religion, National Origin Discrimination Claims Properly Dismissed; Article 78 Proceeding UnsuccessfulWe’ve seen one judge warn a lawyer not to call their adversary an “asshole” in private correspondence. Now we have a decision imposing a $4,700 fine/sanction on a lawyer for (e.g.) calling their adversary a “racist” during a deposition. In Scott-Iverson v. Indep. Health Ass’n, Inc., No. 13-CV-451V(F), 2016 WL 7320067 (W.D.N.Y. Dec. 15, 2016), the…
Read More Court Imposes $4,700 Fine on Lawyer For (e.g.) Calling Adversary a “Racist” During Employment Discrimination DepositionIn McCullough v. Xerox Corp., No. 12-CV-6405L, 2016 WL 7229134 (W.D.N.Y. Dec. 14, 2016), an upstate federal district court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment as to her Equal Pay Act (EPA) claim arising out of her employment as a Human Resources Manager. The court summarized the law applicable to plaintiff’s unequal pay claims under the…
Read More Equal Pay Act Claim Survives Summary Judgment, Continues Against XeroxIn Fisher v. Mermaid Manor Home for Adults, LLC, No. 1:14-CV-03461-WFK-JO, 2016 WL 7330554 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 16, 2016), the court upheld a jury verdict for an African American plaintiff on her employment discrimination claims. This employment discrimination case, asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the NYC Human Rights Law, “began…
Read More Court Upholds Jury Verdict in “Instagram Planet of the Apes” National Origin Discrimination LawsuitIn McNeill v. Raymour & Flanigan Furniture, No. 15-1473, 2016 WL 7048712 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 5, 2016), the court granted the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration of plaintiff’s claims of employment discrimination (race discrimination and retaliation) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This decision illustrates the uphill – albeit not insurmountable –…
Read More Arbitration of Employment Discrimination Claim Compelled; Court Rejects Employee’s Claim That He Never Signed Arbitration AgreementIn McFadden v. Cty. of Monroe, No. 14-2167, 2016 WL 7107468 (2d Cir. Dec. 6, 2016) (Summary Order), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s race discrimination and retaliation claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Municipal Liability As to municipal liability, the court explained that…
Read More Court Discusses Municipal, Individual, and “Cat’s Paw” Liability in Race Discrimination CaseIn Casseus v. N.Y. Coll. of Health Professions, 15-cv-1914, 2016 WL 7029157 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 10, 2016), report and recommendation adopted, 2016 WL 7017364 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 1, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s employment discrimination claims. Among other things, it held that plaintiff failed to exhaust her administrative remedies with respect to her gender discrimination and hostile…
Read More Unasserted Gender Discrimination & Hostile Work Environment Claims Dismissed as Not Administratively Exhausted