In Lenzi v. Systemax, Inc., No. 14-CV-7509 SJF, 2015 WL 6507842 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 26, 2015), the court held that the female plaintiff stated a claim under the federal and New York state Equal Pay Acts. The law, per the court: The federal Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d)(1) prohibits employers from discriminating between employees on…
Read More Female Plaintiff Plausibly Alleges Equal Pay Act ViolationsIn Busby v. Syracuse City Sch. Dist., No. 5:15-CV-1007 LEK/ATB, 2015 WL 5820972 (N.D.N.Y. Oct. 5, 2015), the court adopted the Magistrate Judge’s Report and dismissed plaintiff’s employment discrimination claims as insufficiently pled. There, plaintiff alleged that she was dismissed from her employment as a “School Monitor” at the McKinley–Brighton School in Syracuse after twenty…
Read More Failure to Allege Discriminatory Motivation Results in Dismissal of ComplaintHere is the complaint, captioned Sellick v. Con Edison (SDNY 15-09082, filed 11/18/15), in which plaintiff Sharon Sellick alleges that she was subjected to gender discrimination/hostile work environment and retaliation for asserting her rights.
Read More Gender Discrimination, Retaliation Lawsuit Against Con EdisonOn 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”In Self v. Mixmaster, LLC, 2015 NY Slip Op 31938(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Kings Cty. Oct. 19, 2015), the court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s NYC Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) (sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation), intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims. Defendants argued that plaintiff’s claims under…
Read More Sexual Harassment Etc. Claims Against Mixmaster Survive Motion to Dismiss Based on Geographical Reach of NYC Human Rights LawA recent New York Supreme Court case, Spellman v. Gucci Am. Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 31728(U) (Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Sept. 11, 2015), illustrates that “hostility” disconnected from the plaintiff’s protected class is insufficient to state a cause of action, even under the relatively broad NYC Human Rights Law. The court dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim…
Read More Alleged Threats of Death and Termination Insufficient to Allege a Cause of Action for a Hostile Work Environment Under the NYC Human Rights LawIn a recent lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court (captioned Harwell v. Consolidated Edison Co. of NY, 15-cv-08511 (SDNY filed 10/28/15), plaintiff (an African American woman) asserts, among other things, that she was subjected to race discrimination, gender discrimination, and a hostile work environment by her employer, Con Ed.
Read More Race/Gender Discrimination, Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Con EdisonIn Minckler v. UPS, 2015 WL 6510537 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. Oct. 29, 2015), an upstate appellate court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s sexual harassment/hostile work environment and retaliation claims against her former employer UPS, but held that her claim for assault and battery could continue against a co-worker. The Facts Plaintiff, a UPS administrative…
Read More “Uncivil and Crude” Comments Did Not Amount to Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment at UPSIn Husser v. New York City Dep’t of Educ., No. 12-CV-6095 MKB JO, 2015 WL 5774741 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2015), plaintiff alleged that defendants willfully failed to pay her wages equal to those paid to men for equal work, retaliated against her, and subjected her to a hostile work environment. The court adopted the Magistrate Judge’s Report…
Read More Gender Pay Discrimination and Retaliation, But Not Hostile Work Environment, Claims Survive Summary JudgmentIn Irons v. Bedford-Stuyvesant Cmty. Legal Servs., No. 13-CV-4467 MKB, 2015 WL 5692860 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2015), the court dismissed a male plaintiff’s claims of sexual harassment/hostile work environment, gender discrimination, and retaliation. Here I’ll discuss one aspect of the case – namely, the court’s decision to grant defendants summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims of…
Read More Court Dismisses Male Employee’s Sex Discrimination Claims