The New York City Council has proposed a Local Law was proposed “to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to prohibiting employers from inquiring about or relying on a prospective employee’s salary history.” From the summary: This bill would prohibit employers from inquiring about a prospective employee’s salary history during…
Read More Proposed Legislation Aims to Prohibit Salary History InquiriesIn Santana v. Latino Express Restaurants, Inc., No. 15CV4934-LTS, 2016 WL 4059250 (S.D.N.Y. July 28, 2016), the court found that plaintiff established her sexual harassment, unpaid wage, and retaliation claims following defendants’ default. The facts: Approximately one or two weeks after Santana started working at the Restaurant, [defendant Tommy] Pimental [the restaurant’s co-owner and manager and…
Read More Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, Retaliation, and Unpaid Wage Claims Established Against Latino Express RestaurantsIn Deluca v. Sirius Xm Radio, Inc., No. 12-CV-8239, 2016 WL 3034332 (S.D.N.Y. May 27, 2016), an employment discrimination case, plaintiff alleged that “she was paid less than her male peers, that she was removed from her supervisory authority, and that she was subjected to anti-gay slurs in the workplace.” To flesh out her claims,…
Read More Court Orders Pre-Statute of Limitations “Comparator” Discovery in Gender Pay and Sexual Orientation Discrimination Lawsuit Against Sirius XM RadioIn Motta v. Glob. Contract Servs. Inc., No. 15 CV 8555 (LGS), 2016 WL 2642229 (S.D.N.Y. May 4, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s retaliation and discriminatory pay claims as insufficiently pled. While the court held that the complaint was deficient, its decision is nevertheless instructive as to what must be alleged in order to survive a…
Read More SDNY Explains Discriminatory Pay, Retaliation Pleading DeficienciesIn Tulino v. City of New York, No. 15-CV-7106 (JMF), 2016 WL 2967847 (S.D.N.Y. May 19, 2016), the court held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged a gender-based hostile work environment claim under the NYC Human Rights Law. In her amended complaint, plaintiff alleged (among other things) that defendant “created and perpetuated a culture that essentially required female…
Read More Plaintiff States Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Claim; Alleges She Was Called a “Slut” and “Dick Climber”In Wigdor v. SoulCycle, LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 04118 (App. Div. 1st Dept. May 26, 2016), the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the dismissal of attorney Doug Wigdor’s retaliation claim against SoulCycle. In his complaint, which I wrote about here, Mr. Wigdor alleged that SoulCycle banned him from its premises after he filed a…
Read More Lawyer Lacks Standing to Assert Retaliation Claim, Court HoldsIn a recently-filed lawsuit, captioned Jones v. Trevor Tahiem Smith (a/k/a Busta Rhymes), 16-cv-2194 (EDNY filed 5/3/16), plaintiff – a chauffeur for the rapper known as Busta Rhymes – asserts that he was not paid wages or overtime to which he was entitled, and subjected to age discrimination. He asserts, for example, that Mr. Rhymes told…
Read More Wage and Age Discrimination Lawsuit Against Busta RhymesIn Lopez v. Advantage Plumbing & Mech. Corp., No. 15-CV-4507 (AJN), 2016 WL 1268274 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2016), the court held, among other things, that plaintiffs could amend their complaint to add a national origin discrimination (hostile work environment) claim under the NYC Human Rights Law (but not federal or state law) based on defendants’ “English-only”…
Read More “English Only” National Origin Discrimination Hostile Work Environment Claim Plausibly Alleged Under NYC Human Rights LawIn a recently-filed class action complaint, captioned Suchowieski et al v. Verboten (EDNY 16-cv-01295 filed 3/15/16), plaintiffs allege that Brooklyn nightclub and their owners – Jen Schiffer and her husband, John Perez – committed various acts of wrongdoing against their employees. The complaint alleges, for example, that “[d]efendants’ female employees are subjected to persistent sexual…
Read More Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, and Wage Lawsuit Against Brooklyn Club VerbotenIn a recent complaint, captioned Johnson v. J. Walter Thompson U.S.A., LLC et al, SDNY 16-cv-01805 filed March 10, 2016, plaintiff asserts various employment-related claims – including gender discrimination, race discrimination, hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and retaliation – against J. Walter Thompson and its Chair/CEO Gustavo Martinez. Among the disturbing allegations: Despite Johnson’s success as…
Read More Race/Gender Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, Retaliation Lawsuit Against J. Walter Thompson and Gustavo Martinez