Here is the complaint recently filed by NYPD Scuba Unit member Oscar Smith against the City of New York, captioned Smith v. City of New York et al., 14-cv-07945. Plaintiff alleges, among other things, discrimination based on his race, gender (due to gender stereotypes), perceived sexual orientation, and retaliation.
Read More Discrimination Lawsuit by NYPD Scuba Unit MemberHere is the recently-filed complaint, captioned Pako Mikel and Denise Klerx v. Guerlain, Inc. (N.Y. Sup. Ct., N.Y. Cty., Sept. 25, 2014), Index No. 159425-2014, alleging sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation against French cosmetic company Guerlain Inc. Plaintiffs allege that they were sexually harassed by another employee, and that defendant didn’t do anything to…
Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against GuerlainIn Vosburgh v. American Nat. Red Cross, 2014 WL 4826688 (N.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2014), the court denied defendant’s summary judgment motion regarding plaintiff’s retaliation claim (but granted it regarding plaintiff’s wage and individual liability claims). As to her retaliation claim, the court held: [T]o prevail at the pretext stage of the McDonnell–Douglas analysis, a plaintiff must show…
Read More Hostility to Employee’s Alleged “Disloyal” Conduct Supports Retaliation ClaimHere is the recently-filed federal court complaint (captioned Jermaine Gilyard v. Nine West Group et al., 1:14-cv-07096) in which plaintiff alleges, among other things, that he “was subjected to a hostile work environment on the basis of race, racial discrimination, was disciplined several times on spurious charges, and was finally fired … in retaliation for his attempts…
Read More Race Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit Against Nine West GroupIn Lee v. Woori Bank (decided Aug. 21, 2014), the New York Supreme Court held that plaintiff adequately pleaded a negligent hiring and retention claim. In this case, plaintiffs asserted claims for retaliation, battery, negligence, and sexual harassment. Specifically, they alleged that Mr. Yoo, along with five other managers and executives from Korea, consistently used foul…
Read More Negligent Hiring and Retention Claims Continue Against Korean BankIn Johnson v. City University of New York, decided Sept. 8, 2014, the Southern District of New York once again clarified that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit bullying and harassment that is unconnected with legally-protected characteristics. The court’s first paragraph summarizes the law nicely: Bullying and harassment have no…
Read More “Bullying” and “Harassment” Unconnected to Membership in a Protected Class Not Actionable Under Title VIIHere is the complaint recently filed by Mets executive Leigh Castergine against Sterling Mets Front Office LLC and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Wilpon. Plaintiff alleges that she was discriminated against by Wilpon because she had a child without being married (a practice Wilpon was “morally opposed to”), and then fired for complaining about discrimination.
Read More Mets Executive Alleges She Was Fired For Out-of-Wedlock PregnancyIn Vormittag v Unity Elec. Co., Inc., 12 CV 4116 RJD RLM, 2014 WL 4273303 [EDNY Aug. 28, 2014], the Eastern District of New York granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s age discrimination claim, but denied it with respect to plaintiff’s retaliation claim. Plaintiff sued after being furloughed and fired due to a large-scale…
Read More Father’s Third-Party Retaliation Claim Arising From Daughter’s Sex Discrimination Charge Survives Summary JudgmentIn Valleriani v. Route 390 Nissan (filed Sept. 2, 2014), the Western District of New York denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s gender-based hostile work environment claim: [T]o constitute gender discrimination in the form of a hostile work environment, the conduct directed at Plaintiff had to be based on her gender. Here, the incidents…
Read More Content, Rather Than Motivation, for Sexually Offensive Language is Relevant in Hostile Work Environment Case, According to CourtIn Shafer v. The American University in Cairo, plaintiff – a tenure-track Assistant Professor – alleged that she was subjected to a hostile work environment, demoted, and discriminated against relative to tenure as a result of her identity as a white American Muslim woman, and then retaliated against for complaining about discrimination. The court granted summary judgment to defendants…
Read More Retaliation, But Not Religious Discrimination, Claims Continue Against American University in Cairo