Sexual Harassment

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Judicial opinions are often difficult to distill into discrete bullet points. However, a recent decision can be taken as a cautionary instruction to male supervisors, for example, not instruct their female subordinates, in writing, to remember that they are “a man first and a supervisor second” and that being “sex[y]” is “crucial to the position”, and…

Read More “Mock” Sexual Harassment Letter From Alleged Harasser Supports Plaintiff’s Case Against School District
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In Nelson v. Vigorito, the Appellate Division, Second Department affirmed the denial of summary judgment to defendants on plaintiff’s claim of sexual harassment based on a hostile work environment under the New York State Human Rights Law. Here are the facts, as summarized by the court: The plaintiff, a former employee of the defendant Security…

Read More Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Claims Continue Against Long Island Car Dealership
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In a lawsuit captioned Misas v. North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and Julio Cardoza, SDNY 14-cv-8787 (filed Nov. 4, 2014), plaintiffs allege that defendants North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and Julio Cardoza subjected them to harassment, discrimination, a hostile work environment and retaliation. They assert, for example, that a supervisor told one plaintiff…

Read More Sausages, Pornography, Witchcraft, and Spanking: Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Lenox Hill Hospital
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In Jackson v. OpenCommunications Omnimedia, LLC, the New York State Supreme Court ordered defendants to produce “all documents and notes related to an internal investigation conducted … in connection with the Plaintiff’s complaints of sexual harassment and discrimination.” Defendants resisted production on the ground of privilege. Citing the liberal discovery principles embodied in CPLR 3101, the court granted…

Read More Court Orders Production of Materials Relating to Internal Sexual Harassment Investigation
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A recent Appellate Division, Second Department decision, Sicuranza v. Philip Howard Apts. Tenants Corp. (decided 10/22/14), held that the plaintiff’s claims of sexual harassment, battery, negligent hiring, and negligent supervision were barred by a release executed by the plaintiff as part of a separation agreement she entered into with her former employer, nonparty Cooper Square Realty, Inc.…

Read More Release Bars Sexual Harassment, Battery, Negligent Hiring, and Negligent Supervision Claims
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A recent Eastern District decision, Delisi v. National Ass’n of Professional Women, illustrates the circumstances under which an individual defendant – here, defendant’s general counsel – may be liable under the “aiding and abetting” and retaliation provisions of the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). Generally, plaintiff asserted that she was subjected to sexual harassment, and…

Read More Company’s Alleged Failure to Investigate Discrimination Complaint Supported “Aiding and Abetting” and Retaliation Claims
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Here is the recent employment discrimination lawsuit filed against HSBC, captioned Michael Preston v. HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., 14-cv-8402. Plaintiff alleges, among other things, that he was sexually harassed by a gay co-worker – which involved explicit requests for sexual favors, physically touching and fondling plaintiff, and sexual remarks about plaintiff’s penis – and then fired a…

Read More Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit Against HSBC
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In Parra v. City of White Plains (decided Sept. 4, 2014), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff plausibly alleged some, but not other, claims of discrimination. Plaintiff, a Hispanic female police officer, alleged that defendants subjected her to a hostile work environment based on sexual harassment, retaliated against her for complaining about the…

Read More Pairing Harassment Victim With Harassers Was Unreasonable, Supporting Vicarious Liability in Police Officer’s Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Case
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In Nankivell v. Ardis Health, LLC, the court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim for sex discrimination and harassment under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The NYCHRL is broader than its federal and state counterparts (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law,…

Read More Sexual Comments and Conduct Were Not “Petty Slights or Trivial Inconveniences”, Supporting Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Claim Under NYC Human Rights Law
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In EEOC v. Suffolk Laundry Services, 48 F.Supp.3d 497 (2014), the Eastern District of New York denied defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment on plaintiffs’ hostile work environment claims. (Here is the complaint and here is the EEOC press release about the lawsuit.) One point this decision makes is that “conduct directed at other employees is part of the…

Read More “Hostile Work Environment” Can Be Shown By Conduct Directed at Other Employees
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