In Legrá v. Bd. of Educ. of the City Sch. Dist. of the City of N.Y., No. 14-CV-9245 (JGK), 2016 WL 6102369 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 19, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s employment discrimination complaint – alleging employment discrimination, retaliation, and harassment – on statute of limitations and other grounds. Here’s the law: An action alleging an employer’s…
Read More Days-Late Employment Discrimination Lawsuit DismissedIn Silvers v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 15-CV-6721 (KBF), 2016 WL 5875076 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 7, 2016), the court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the New York State Human Rights Law. From the decision: Plaintiff raises no triable issue of…
Read More Question About Retirement Plans Alone Insufficient to Survive Summary Judgment on Age Discrimination ClaimOn August 25, 2016, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a document titled “EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues“. This document, among other things, outlines the elements of a retaliation cause of action under the statutes administered by the EEOC – including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age…
Read More EEOC Issues “Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues”Today I become a member of a protected class. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, codified at 29 U.S.C. 621, is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on age. Specifically, it prohibits discrimination against “individuals who are at least 40 years of age.” As of today, this includes me. The ADEA makes it…
Read More The Age Discrimination in Employment Act Now Protects MeIn a recent Summary Order, Dunaway v. MPCC Corp. (2d Cir. Sept. 27, 2016), the Second Circuit affirmed the summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s age discrimination claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. This decision teaches that asking age-related questions during a job interview is not, alone, necessarily sufficient to sustain a failure-to-hire discrimination claim.…
Read More Age-Related Comments During Job Interview Insufficient to Establish Failure-to-Hire ADEA ClaimEmployment discrimination law is (for the most part) statutory, and is distributed among a variety of federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Although these statutes’ protections may overlap, they differ in terms of (e.g.) which employers are covered, administrative filing prerequisites, and damages/remedies. Below is a summary (not a complete listing or explanation) of…
Read More Which Employment Discrimination Laws Protect New York City Workers?In Durick v. New York City Dep’t of Educ., No. 15 CIV. 7441 (BMC), 2016 WL 4385908 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 17, 2016), the court held that plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate-disability and constructive discharge claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act survived summary judgment. Failure to Accommodate As to plaintiff’s failure to accommodate claim, the court explained: In order…
Read More Parking Space Reasonable Accommodation (Disability) Claim Survives Summary JudgmentIn Franchino v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, No. 15 CV 6299 (VB), 2016 WL 3360525, at (S.D.N.Y. June 15, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s complaint for discrimination on the basis of gender, ethnicity, national origin, and age under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. In dismissing his Title VII…
Read More SDNY Dismisses Employment Discrimination Complaint Asserting Unequal Discipline and Age-Related Jokes and CommentsComments demonstrating bias are frequently cited in employment discrimination and retaliation cases. A recent Second Circuit decision, In Kazolias v. IBEWLU 363, 806 F.3d 45 (2d Cir. 2015), holds that a comment can demonstrate evidence of retaliation existing prior to the statement. There, plaintiffs, three journeymen wiremen, asserted (among other claims) that they were subjected to age discrimination…
Read More Comments Can Evidence Pre-Existing Bias, Second Circuit HoldsEvery legal claim has a “statute of limitations” – that is, a deadline for filing a lawsuit in court. Failure to commence an action by the applicable statute of limitations can be fatal and result in the loss of important rights. In employment discrimination litigation, one key deadline when asserting claims under, for example, Title…
Read More Age Discrimination Claim Was Timely; “Three Day” Mailing Presumption Rebutted