In 2015 I wrote a blog post about a Southern District of New York decision and order in a case captioned Varughese v. Mount Sinai Med. Ctr., No. 12-cv-8812 CM JCF, 2015 WL 1499618 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 27, 2015), which granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment and dismissed with prejudice all of plaintiff Dr. Leena Varughese’s claims…
Read More Bullying, Censorship, and Baseless Lawsuit Threats: Dr. Leena VarugheseIn Figueroa v. Johnson, 648 F. App’x 130, 133 (2d Cir. 2016), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s gender/national origin discrimination, hostile work environment, quid pro quo sexual harassment, and retaliation claims. Plaintiff, a Customs and Border Protection Officer at JFK Airport, argued (inter alia) that he was discriminated against on the basis of gender…
Read More Gender/National Origin Discrimination Claim Dismissed; Comparators Also Required to Work Holidays (Including Thanksgiving)In Bliss v. MXK Rest. Corp., No. 16CV2676, 2016 WL 6775439 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s gender and sexual orientation-based hostile work environment, retaliation, and aiding-and-abetting discrimination claims. In her complaint, plaintiff – a bartender/manager at defendants’ Remix nightclub – alleged (among other things) that she was subjected to a hostile work…
Read More Remix Bartender’s Gender-Based Hostile Work Environment Claims Dismissed as Insufficiently PledDonald J. Trump’s election is likely to be a major topic of discussion among many people, particularly at work. The topic of sex – including sexual harassment and sexual assault – has, one could say, dominated this election. While sex is no stranger to politics (see, e.g., Clinton/Lewinsky) this time seems … different. Examples include…
Read More Donald Trump, Sexual Harassment, and the WorkplaceIn Palmer v. Shchegol, No. 14-cv-4406, 2016 WL 5678544 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2016), the court dismissed some, but not all, of plaintiff’s employment discrimination claims. Plaintiff – described in the decision as “a fifty-year-old United Kingdom native who describes herself as a dark-skinned black woman” – asserted claims of disparate treatment, discriminatory pay, and wrongful…
Read More Discriminatory Pay & Wrongful Termination Claims Sufficiently PleadedA recent decision, Kennedy v. Federal Express Corp, 13-cv-1540, 2016 WL 5415774 (N.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2016), a sexual harassment case, illustrates that proving the existence of a hostile work environment is alone insufficient to prevail. In this case, defendant conceded for purposes of its summary judgment motion that the alleged conduct of plaintiff’s supervisor created…
Read More FedEx Not Liable For Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment; Faragher/Ellerth Defense Cited and AppliedIn 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 DismissEmployment discrimination law is (for the most part) statutory, and is distributed among a variety of federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Although these statutes’ protections may overlap, they differ in terms of (e.g.) which employers are covered, administrative filing prerequisites, and damages/remedies. Below is a summary (not a complete listing or explanation) of…
Read More Which Employment Discrimination Laws Protect New York City Workers?In Johnson v IAC/Interactive Corp., 2016 NY Slip Op 31520(U) (NY Sup. Ct. Index No. 155837 /14 Aug. 12, 2016), an employment discrimination case, the court evaluated the parties’ motions to compel discovery (per CPLR 3124) and for sanctions and/or evidence preclusion (per CPLR 3126). The court held, among other things, that plaintiff was entitled to…
Read More Court Orders Discovery Relating to Termination of Similarly-Situated Employees in Gender Discrimination CaseIn Conforti v. Sunbelt Rentals, Inc., No. 15-cv-5045, 2016 WL 4288699 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 15, 2016), the court held that the Plaintiff “satisfied the minimal showing required at this motion to dismiss stage to plausibly allege that the Defendant’s decision to terminate her employment … was motivated at least in part by a discriminatory reason.” Judge Spatt…
Read More Replacement By Men, Sexist Comments, Etc. Among Facts That Plausibly Alleged Gender Discrimination