In Calise v. New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, 17-cv-791, 2018 WL 4350247 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 12, 2018), plaintiff, a white woman, asserted claims of race discrimination – based on alleged mistreatment by her boss, who is black – under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C.…
Read More Title VII Race Discrimination Claim Survives Against NYS Dept. of Motor VehiclesIn Johnson v. Schmid et al, 17-3196 (2d Cir. Sept. 7, 2018) (Summary Order), an employment (race) discrimination case asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s award of summary judgment to defendants. Plaintiff, a black social worker trainee, proffered three grounds for why his…
Read More Title VII Race Discrimination Dismissal Affirmed; Comparators Were Not “Similarly Situated;” Racial Slur Introduced Too LateIn McLeod v. General Vision Services, Inc. et al, 13-cv-6824, 2018 WL 3745662 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 6, 2018), the court, inter alia, granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s race discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 42 USC 1981, but denied it with respect to plaintiff’s race discrimination claim…
Read More Race Discrimination (Termination) Claim Survives Under City, But Not Federal, LawIn McLeod v. General Vision Services, Inc. et al, 13-cv-6824, 2018 WL 3745662 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 6, 2018), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion on plaintiff’s race- and age-based hostile work environment claims. The court noted – in the portion of the decision where it assessed plaintiff’s race discrimination claims[1]The court dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination claims…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Racial EpithetsIn Rosas v. Balter Sales Co., Inc. et al, 12-CV-6557, 2018 WL 3199253 (S.D.N.Y. June 29, 2018), the court, inter alia, upheld a jury verdict – i.e., denied defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of law under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50 – in plaintiff’s favor on his race-based hostile work environment claim.[1]The court also…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives DismissalIn Rosas v. Balter Sales Co., Inc. et al, 12-CV-6557, 2018 WL 3199253 (S.D.N.Y. June 29, 2018), the court, inter alia, upheld a jury verdict – i.e., denied defendants’ motion for judgment as a matter of law under Fed. R. Civ. P. 50 – in plaintiff’s favor on his race discrimination (termination) claim.[1]It also denied defendants’…
Read More Race Discrimination Jury Verdict for Plaintiff UpheldA recent decision, Jackson v. Time Warner Cable Administration LLC, 2018 WL 2371024 (S.D.N.Y. 16-cv-8639 May 18, 2018), illustrates that the proper focus in an employment discrimination case is not whether an employer’s non-discriminatory explanation for the allegedly wrongful action is reliable or true, but rather what motivated the employer. In this case, defendant terminated…
Read More Employment Discrimination Case Against Time Warner Dismissed; Racial Motive Not ShownIn Duplan v. City of New York, 2018 WL 1996613 (2d Cir. April 30, 2018), the U.S. Court of Appeals held, inter alia, that plaintiff – a gay black Haitian man – sufficiently alleged retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court initially held that plaintiff, a New York City…
Read More Title VII Retaliation Claim Survives Dismissal [Duplan v. City of New York]In Amaya v. Ballyshear LLC et al, 17-cv-1596, 2018 WL 1319003 (EDNY March 14, 2018), the court held, inter alia, that plaintiff (an Ecuadorian woman amd member of the Hispanic race) sufficiently alleged a race-based hostile work environment claim based on anti-Hispanic epithets. The court explained: [T]o survive a motion to dismiss, “a plaintiff need…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Stated Under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 Based on Racial EpithetsIn Isakov v. HASC Ctr., Inc. Druker, No. 17-CV-5775 (BMC), 2018 WL 1114714 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 27, 2018), the court held that plaintiff plausibly alleged a claim for religion-based employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff asserted, inter alia, that he was treated differently/unfairly after he stopped practicing “Orthodox” Judaism,…
Read More Race, Religious Discrimination Claims Stated Against HASC Center; Plaintiff Alleged Mistreatment Due to Switching From “Orthodox” to “Traditional” Judaism