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In Kirkland v. Speedway LLC, No. 15-cv-1184, 2017 WL 2198963 (N.D.N.Y. May 18, 2017) (J. Scullin), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of hostile work environment sexual harassment under the NYS Human Rights Law. From the decision: Plaintiff proffers the following…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Staring, Inappropriate Name-Calling, & Unsolicited Touching
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A recent Tenth Circuit decision, Jones v. Needham Trucking LLC et al, 16-6156 (10th Cir. May 12, 2017), illustrates the close relationship between the court-recognized “hostile work environment” and “quid pro quo” forms of sexual harassment. The district court granted defendants’ partial motion to dismiss, holding that plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies for…

Read More 10th Circuit Holds That Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment Claim Was Exhausted in EEOC Filing
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In Olenick v. City of N.Y., No. 23466/11, 2017 WL 1743179 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Kings Cty. May 4, 2017) – a personal injury case by a bicyclist injured when a pedestrian stepped into his path on the Brooklyn Bridge – the court denied the City’s motion for summary judgment and to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint. By its…

Read More Brooklyn Bridge Cyclist Injury Lawsuit Proceeds Against City; Jury to Determine Whether City’s Failure to Conduct Safety Study Contributed to Plaintiff’s Accident
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In Dickens v. Hudson Sheraton Corp. LLC, No. 16-969-CV, 2017 WL 1755941 (2d Cir. May 4, 2017) (Summary Order), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s Title VII retaliation claim. Plaintiff contended that he was retaliated against for his participation in a union-sponsored meeting in which he was attempting to oppose what he reasonably viewed…

Read More 2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Title VII Retaliation Claims; “Intimidating” Behavior Was Not an “Adverse Employment Action”
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In Hruska v. Bohemian Citizens’ Benevolent Socy. of Astoria, Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 30423(U) (NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty. 158593/2014 March 2, 2017) – a national origin discrimination and retaliation case – the court granted plaintiff’s motion for leave to reargue (under CPLR 2221(d)(2)) the court dismissal of plaintiff’s retaliation claim under the New York…

Read More Retaliation Claim Proceeds Based on Temporal Proximity Between Lawyer’s Demand Letter and Adverse Action
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In Dotson v. City of Syracuse, No. 15-3631, 2017 WL 1437131, at *2 (2d Cir. Apr. 24, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit held that the district court improperly dismissing plaintiff’s gender discrimination claim. Among other things, this decision teaches that at the “pretext” step of the discrimination claim analysis, the evidence must be considered…

Read More Gender Discrimination, But Not Retaliation, Claim Continues Against City of Syracuse; District Court Did Not Consider All Circumstances When Evaluating Pretext
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In Evert v. Wyoming Cty. Cmty. Health Sys., No. 14-CV-912S, 2017 WL 1832051 (W.D.N.Y. May 8, 2017) (J. Skretny), the court dismissed plaintiff’s gender discrimination/harassment claim. Plaintiff, a prison nurse, alleged, among other things, that corrections officers began harassing her after she received a letter from an inmate she had treated. After reciting the law…

Read More Court Explains Reasons For Dismissing Prison Nurse’s Title VII Gender-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim
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In Campbell v. Nat’l Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., No. 1:13-CV-00438 EAW, 2017 WL 1957829 (W.D.N.Y. May 11, 2017), the court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed plaintiff’s Title VII gender discrimination claim. While plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case, her case fell apart at the third step of the analysis.…

Read More Title VII Gender Discrimination Case Dismissed; Actions By “Tough Supervisor” Who “Did Not Like” Plaintiff Not Shown to Have Exhibited Unlawful Bias
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In Magnusson v. County of Suffolk, No. 16-1876-CV, 2017 WL 1958699 (2d Cir. May 11, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s sexual harassment claims under Title VII and 42 U.S.C. 1983 (Equal Protection). The court held that plaintiff’s Title VII’s claim was appropriately dismissed, because she did not follow the…

Read More Title VII Sexual Harassment Claim Dismissed Due to Failure to Follow Internal Grievance Procedures
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In Kimmel v. State, No. 36, 2017 WL 1838940 (N.Y. May 9, 2017), the New York Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court) held that the state Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), codified at CPLR Article 86, “permits the award of attorneys’ fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff in an action against the State…

Read More NY Court of Appeals: Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) Permits Award of Attorney Fees to Prevailing Plaintiffs in Actions Against NY State Under the NYS Human Rights Law For Sex Discrimination in Employment By a State Agency
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