Court: NY App. Div. Dept. 3

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In Matter of Davis, No. 521825, 2017 NY Slip Op 01920, 2017 WL 1013161 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. Mar. 16, 2017), the court affirmed an Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board determination that the claimant was disqualified from receiving unemployment insurance benefits because she voluntarily left her employment without good cause. The court summarized the facts/procedure…

Read More Unemployment Benefit Denial to Resigning Employee Affirmed, Notwithstanding Hostile Work Environment Allegation
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In Matter of Mitchell (Nation Co. Ltd. Partners – Commissioner of Labor), 2016 NY Slip Op 08923 (App. Div. 3d Dept. Dec. 29, 2016), the court reversed a Board determination finding that Gregory A. Mitchell, a blogger for The Nation, was an “employee” and thus entitled to unemployment insurance benefits following the non-renewal of his contract in…

Read More Blogger Was Not An “Employee” of The Nation; Unemployment Benefits Denied
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A recent upstate appellate decision addresses the correlation between a sexual harassment claim, on the one hand, and workers’ compensation benefits, on the other. In Shiner v. Suny at Buffalo, No. 522762, 2016 WL 6782717, (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. Nov. 17, 2016), the court affirmed the Workers Compensation Board’s decision that claimant’s failure to obtain…

Read More Sexual Harassment Settlement Bars Further Workers Compensation Benefits, De
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In City of Binghamton v. Whalen, 2016 NY Slip Op 04289 (App. Div. 3d Dept. June 2, 2016), the court held that plaintiff – the defendant’s former employer was entitled to summary judgment on its claim under the “faithless servant doctrine.” The court explained the doctrine as follows: New York law with respect to the disloyal or…

Read More 3d Dept. Rejects “Apportionment” Limitation on Faithless Servant Doctrine in Case of Larcenous Director of Parks & Recreation
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An employee who voluntarily leaves a job “without good cause” is not entitled to unemployment insurance benefits. New York Labor Law § 593. But what amounts to “good cause”? The case law teaches that that is a fact-specific determination. In Matter of Labbate, 2016 NY Slip Op 02898 (App. Div. 3d Dept. April 14, 2016), the…

Read More Sexual Harassment Was “Good Cause” to Leave Job; Unemployment Benefits Upheld
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In Pawson v. Ross, 2016 NY Slip Op 02502 (App. Div. 3d  Dept. March 31, 2016), an upstate appellate court held that defendants should have been granted summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s complaint alleging hostile work environment sexual harassment under the New York State Human Rights Law. After stating the relevant law, the court proceeded to apply…

Read More “Reprehensible” Conduct (Including “Butt Swats” and “Spanking” Comments) Held Insufficient to Establish Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment Under NYS Human Rights Law
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In Matter of Gifford v Mccarthy, 2016 NY Slip Op 00230 (App. Div. 3d Dept. Jan. 14, 2016), the Appellate Division, Third Department held that the NYS Division of Human Rights properly found an upstate farm guilty of an unlawful discriminatory practice based on sexual orientation. This decision provides useful guidance on, among other things, what…

Read More Court Upholds NYSDHR Determination That Liberty Ridge Farm Engaged in Public Accommodation Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation by Refusing to Host Same-Sex Wedding Ceremony and Reception
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In Minckler v. UPS, 2015 WL 6510537 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. Oct. 29, 2015), an upstate appellate court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s sexual harassment/hostile work environment and retaliation claims against her former employer UPS, but held that her claim for assault and battery could continue against a co-worker. The Facts Plaintiff, a UPS administrative…

Read More “Uncivil and Crude” Comments Did Not Amount to Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment at UPS
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A recent Third Department decision, In the Matter of Sullivan v. Brookville Center for Children’s Services, affirmed a decision to award unemployment benefits to an employee who was terminated due to alleged disqualifying conduct, namely, posting on using social media during work hours. The court held: The question of whether a claimant engaged in actions…

Read More Violation of Company’s Social Media Policy Did Not Disqualify Worker From Receiving Unemployment Benefits
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