Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to discriminate against an employee because of (among other protected characteristics) “sex.” The term “sexual harassment” typically conjures up images of a male boss acting inappropriately towards a female subordinate. This is one, but not the only,…
Read More Same-Sex Sexual HarassmentIn Willis v. Cty. of Onondaga, No. 14-cv-1306, 2016 WL 7116126 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 6, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s sexual harassment, racial harassment, retaliation, and other claims asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Here I’ll discuss the court’s evaluation of plaintiff’s Title VII sexual harassment claim. Plaintiff, an African-American heterosexual…
Read More Court Dismisses Sheriff’s Sexual Harassment and Other Claims; Court Assumed Conduct Was “Because of Sex” and Sufficiently “Severe” and “Pervasive” But Was Not Imputable to DefendantIn CHRISTIAN ESPINAL, Plaintiff, v. THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK, RAMON MARTINEZ, Individually, KIM KADEL, Individually, & TERRI CALDES, Individually, Defendants., No. 16 CIV. 4100 (CM), 2016 WL 6561406 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 24, 2016), the court held that issues of fact precluded dismissal of plaintiff’s sexual harassment claims. Specifically, the court…
Read More Fact Issues Preclude Dismissal of Title VII Sexual Harassment and NYCHRL Aiding and Abetting Claim Against Columbia University; Alleged Release Not DispositiveIn a lawsuit filed on Sept. 26, 2016, captioned Johnson v. Haagen-Dazs Shoppe Co., Inc., plaintiff alleges, among other things, that plaintiff “was subjected to repeated unwanted verbal and physical sexual harassment by the store manager and his direct supervisor”, defendant Kevin Hickman. The complaint alleges, for example, that Hickman frequently sent plaintiff “sexually explicit text messages…
Read More Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Haagen Dazs FranchiseeIn Mykytyn v. Hannaford Bros. Co., No. 15-01427, 2016 WL 3638182 (N.Y. App. Div. 4th Dept. July 8, 2016), the court reinstated several of plaintiff’s claims, including his co-worker-based sexual harassment/hostile work environment claim. The facts, as summarized by the court: Plaintiff commenced this action seeking damages for, inter alia, employment discrimination pursuant to the…
Read More Court Explains and Applies the Standard For Co-Worker Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Claims Under the NYS Human Rights LawUnited States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died on February 13, 2016. Many disagreed with the outspoken justice’s politics; some were happy to see him go. Many compilations of his opinions/dissents (such as this one or this one) appear to highlight his conservative ideology. Unsurprisingly missing from many such compilations is his opinion in Oncale v. Sundowner…
Read More Justice Scalia: Civil Rights Champion?In Erasmus v. Deutsche Bank Americas Holding Corp. et al, No. 15 CIV. 1398 (PAE), 2015 WL 7736554 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 30, 2015), the Southern District of New York (Judge Engelmayer) dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment and discrimination claims, but permitted plaintiff’s retaliation claims (albeit in limited form) to continue. Plaintiff, a heterosexual male, alleged in…
Read More Retaliation Claims, But Not Discrimination & Hostile Work Environment Claims, Remain Against Deutsche BankOn October 21, 2015, Governor Cuomo signed into law several bills, collectively known as the “Women’s Equality Act” (Assembly Bill No. A08070), that will accord greater protections to women in the workplace. These new laws will take effect 90 days after signing, in January 2016. According to the Governor’s website, this legislation “will help to ensure that…
Read More Governor Cuomo Signs “Women’s Equality Act”Here is the complaint, captioned Andre v. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center et al, 15-cv-04557 (SDNY June 11, 2015), in which the female plaintiff alleges, among other things, that her female supervisor sexually harassed her and fired her in retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
Read More Same-Sex Sexual Harassment, Pregnancy Discrimination, and Retaliation Lawsuit Against Memorial Sloan KetteringIn a lawsuit filed April 2, 2015 and captioned Lombardi v. CBS Broadcasting, Inc. et al., 15-cv-02516, plaintiff Lombardi asserts various claims against defendant CBS, including gender discrimination, retaliation, constructive discharge, aiding and abetting discrimination, and hostile work environment. Among other allegations, plaintiff (who is male) alleges that at CBS’ December 2013 holiday party, a…
Read More Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against CBS