Sexual Harassment

In Wiesen v. Guaranteed Home Mortgage, Inc., No. 14-CV-6649, 2017 WL 131741 (W.D.N.Y. Jan. 13, 2017), the court denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sexual harassment claims under Title VII. Plaintiff asserted that her alleged harasser (Schwaber) was in a supervisory position with respect to her as branch manager; defendant countered that Schwaber…

Read More Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment Claims Survive Summary Judgment in Light of Fact Issue as to Whether Alleged Harasser Was Plaintiff’s “Supervisor” or “Co-Worker”
Share This:

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 Harassment
Share This:

In Croci v. Town of Haverstraw, No. 2015-01366, 2017 WL 99235 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. Jan. 11, 2017), a New York appellate court upheld the dismissal of plaintiff’s sexual harassment case. This decision is instructive on when an employer will be vicariously liable for sexual harassment under the New York State Human Rights Law. Here…

Read More Town Not Vicariously Liable for Co-Worker’s Alleged Sexual Harassment; Summary Judgment Affirmed
Share This:

In a lawsuit filed on January 5, 2017 captioned Heffernan v. Delta Airlines et al (N.Y. Sup. Ct. N.Y. Cty. Index 150092/2017), plaintiffs allege, inter alia, that their “mentor” (Delta employee) Mike Keve exposed himself and masturbated at work and that they were terminated in retaliation for complaining about it, in violation of the New…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Delta Airlines Features “Masturbating Mentor”
Share This:

In employment discrimination cases, assuming a plaintiff sufficiently/plausibly alleges one or more claims in their complaint, the next procedural battleground is (usually) “summary judgment”. You can think of summary judgment as the last procedural hurdle – often after discovery is complete and all the facts are “in” – standing between a plaintiff and the holy grail…

Read More Surviving Summary Judgment: Sexual Harassment (Hostile Work Environment)
Share This:

As 2016 draws to a close, I’d like to take a brief moment to reflect on the past year. Cases We have continued to fight on behalf of our clients in employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal injury matters. Cases we have handled this year include: Sexual harassment ($500,000 settlement) Disability discrimination and retaliation ($30,000…

Read More Pospis Law Year in Review: 2016
Share This:

In Camarda v. City of New York et al, 15-3262-cv, 2016 WL 7234686 (2d Cir. Dec. 14, 2016) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the summary judgment dismissal (Camarda v. City of NY, EDNY 11-cv-2629, Sept. 16, 2015 (J. Mauskoopf)) of plaintiff’s claims of sex discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983;…

Read More 2nd Circuit Explains Decision to Affirm Dismissal of Police Officer’s Sexual Harassment, Gender Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, and Retaliation Claims
Share This:

In 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 Defendant
Share This:

In Szwalla v. Time Warner Cable LLC, No. 15-3479, 2016 WL 7018340 (2d Cir. Dec. 1, 2016) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment/sexual harassment and retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In sum, plaintiff alleged that two supervisors sexually harassed her…

Read More Sexual Harassment (Hostile Work Environment) & Retaliation Claims Properly Dismissed Against Time Warner Cable
Share This:

In Ilinca v. Bd. of Coop. Educ. Servs. of Nassau, No. 13-CV-3500(JS)(AYS), 2016 WL 6989780 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 29, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s sexual harassment (hostile work environment) claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The decision gives us a summary of the relevant law: [A] plaintiff states a Title VII…

Read More Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; “Inappropriate and Grossly Unprofessional” Conduct Was Insufficiently Severe
Share This: