Retaliation

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In La Porta v. Alacra, Inc., 142 A.D.3d 851, 2016 NY Slip Op 06113 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Sept. 22, 2016), the court held that plaintiff stated claims for hostile work environment sexual harassment and retaliation (but not hostile work environment-based constructive discharge). The court summarized plaintiff’s claims as follows: Plaintiff, the manager of defendant…

Read More Sexual Harassment Case (Including Facebook “Boobs” Comment) Survives Motion to Dismiss
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In Elmessaoudi v. Mark 2 Restaurant LLC, No. 14 CIV. 4560 (PGG), 2016 WL 4992582 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 15, 2016), the court held that plaintiff submitted sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment on his retaliation claim. From the decision: Plaintiff has presented circumstantial evidence that is sufficient to create a question of fact as to whether…

Read More Retaliation/Sexual Harassment Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Pretext Shown
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In Marquez v. City of New York, 14-CV-8185, 2016 WL 4767577 (SDNY Sept. 12, 2016), the court granted summary judgment to defendant and dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. Plaintiff (a NYPD detective) alleged, among other things, that a male Lieutenant (Castro) told her that she did not need to lose weight and that he “liked her the…

Read More Invitation to “Gun Show” and Other Comments Insufficient to Survive Summary Judgment on Hostile Work Environment Claim
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In Parra v. City of White Plains et al, No. 13 CV 5544 (VB), 2016 WL 4734666 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 9, 2016), the court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim (but granted it with respect to plaintiff’s retaliation claim). In sum, plaintiff – a police officer – alleges that two…

Read More Police Officer’s Sexual Harassment / Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives Summary Judgment
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Not every action taken by an employer against an employee is actionable under the anti-discrimination laws, even if the action is tied to a so-called protected characteristic. The dividing line between actionable and non-actionable conduct – for claims of retaliation or status-based discrimination – is the presence, or absence, of an “adverse employment action.” As…

Read More What is an “Adverse Employment Action”?
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A recent decision, Frazier v. City of New York Dep’t of Correction, No. 14-CV-1224 (KAM)(PK), 2016 WL 4444775 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 23, 2016), addressed whether certain alleged actions were “adverse employment actions” sufficient to support a proposed complaint amendment to add a claim of retaliation. Initially, the court addressed the procedural issue of whether plaintiff should be…

Read More Court Rejects Motion to Amend Complaint to Add Retaliation Claim; Informal Reprimands Were Not “Adverse Employment Actions”
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A female partner at the law firm of Chadbourne & Parke LLP filed a Manhattan federal lawsuit (captioned Kerrie Campbell v. Chadbourne & Parke LLP et al, SDNY 16-cv-6832), which “seeks relief on behalf of herself and other female Partners who have been disparately underpaid, systematically shut out of Firm leadership, demoted, de-equitized and terminated.”

Read More Gender Discrimination Class-Action Lawsuit Against Chadbourne & Parke
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In Redfern-Wallace v. Buffalo News, Inc., No. 12-CV-471, 2016 WL 4361129 (W.D.N.Y. Aug. 16, 2016), the court adopted a Magistrate’s Report & Recommendation that defendants’ motions for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s discriminatory-discharge, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims be granted. As to plaintiff’s discriminatory-discharge claim, the court explained: Based on the undisputed facts, it is clear that…

Read More Crass Text Messages to Co-Worker, Not Discrimination, Were Reason For Termination; “Niagara”, “Chia Pet” Comments Did Not Constitute Hostile Work Environment
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Today, in Vasquez v. Empress Ambulance Service, 15-3239-cv (2d Cir. Aug. 29, 2016), the Second Circuit – in an opinion authored by Judge Calabresi – vacated a lower court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s retaliation claim under Title VII, and explicitly held “that an employer may be held liable for an employee’s animus under a ‘cat’s paw’…

Read More Second Circuit Reinstates Retaliation Claim Based on “Cat’s Paw” Theory
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In Philip v. Gtech Corp., No. 14 CIV. 9261 (PAE), 2016 WL 3959729 (S.D.N.Y. July 20, 2016), the court held that there were “triable issues of fact which, if resolved in Philip’s favor, would enable a reasonable jury to find that race was more likely than not a motivating factor in his termination.” For example, the…

Read More Race Discrimination Claims Survive Summary Judgment
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