A recent decision, Dudley v. New York City Housing Authority, 2017 WL 4315010 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2017), reaffirms the principle that a hostile work environment claim must arise from hostility because of a protected characteristic. In this case, plaintiff alleged that he “was subjected to a hostile work environment in retaliation for his prior protected…
Read More Court Dismisses “Retaliatory Hostile Work Environment” ClaimsIn Gracia v. City of NY, 16-CV-7329, 2017 WL 4286319 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 26, 2017) (J. Caproni), the court held that a release signed by plaintiff – a female NYPD officer – to resolve a personal injury slip-and-fall case was broad enough to encompass claims for gender discrimination sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation. In…
Read More Personal Injury Release Held Broad Enough to Cover Employment Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Retaliation ClaimsIn Lamarr-Arruz & Ansoralli v. CVS Pharmacy, Inc., 15-cv-04261, 2017 WL 4280690 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 26, 2017), the court denied defendant CVS’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s hostile work environment claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. Here I will focus…
Read More Race-Based Hostile Work Environment Claims Survive Summary Judgment; Court Clarifies Scope of 42 U.S.C. § 1981In Osby v. City of New York, 13-cv-8826, 2017 WL 4236563 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 22, 2017), the court granted defendant’s motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, and dismissed plaintiff’s disability discrimination and retaliation claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To make out an ADA discrimination claim, plaintiff…
Read More ADA Disability Discrimination & Retaliation Claims Dismissed; Employer Actions Were Time-Barred, Not “Adverse Employment Actions”, or Were Not Undertaken Because of Discriminatory AnimusFrom Mikolaenko v. New York University, 2017 WL 4174928 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 7, 2017) (J. Batts): Defendant also moves to dismiss on the grounds that Plaintiff failed to exhaust her administrative remedies because she first included allegations of a quid pro quo sexual relationship in her Complaint and did not include related allegations in her EEOC…
Read More “Quid Pro Quo” Sexual Harassment Claim Was Sufficiently Presented to the EEOC, Court HoldsIn Mayo-Coleman v. American Sugars Holding, Inc., 14-cv-0079, 2017 WL 4157379 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 18, 2017) (J. Crotty), the Southern District of New York (partially) adopted a Magistrate Judge’s Report & Recommendation to deny defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s hostile work environment/sexual harassment claim. The court summarized the law: Proof of a hostile work…
Read More Hostile Work Environment/Sexual Harassment Claim Survives Summary JudgmentIn Sefovic v. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 2017 WL 3668845 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 23, 2017), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment and dismissed plaintiff’s claims under, inter alia, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In sum, defendant terminated plaintiff after he failed to return to work following medical leave. Specifically: “The undisputed facts establish…
Read More Disability Discrimination Claims Dismissed, in Light of Plaintiff’s Inability to WorkIn Weinstein v. City of New York, New York City Department of Sanitation, 2017 WL 3891699 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 5, 2017), the court held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged discrimination based on his race and religion under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and race, religion, and disability under the New York City Human Rights…
Read More Sanitation Worker’s Race, Color, & Disability Discrimination Claims Survive Motion to DismissIn Duarte v. St. Barnabas Hospital, 2017 WL 4082307, at *17 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 13, 2017), the court held that material issues of fact precluded summary judgment for defendant on plaintiff’s disability and national origin-based hostile work environment claim. As to plaintiff’s hearing condition, the court noted: Here, Plaintiff has offered evidence that – during weekly…
Read More Accent- and Disability-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives Summary JudgmentIn Arcos v. New School University, 2017 WL 3868495, at *7 (S.D.N.Y., 2017), the court upheld a jury verdict that plaintiff was subjected to discrimination based on his race and national origin (Cuban/Hispanic) under Title VII, § 1981, the NYSHRL, and the NYCHRL. In sum, plaintiff – a Cuban-born Hispanic man – was a faculty member at…
Read More Court Upholds Jury Verdict in Cuban Professor’s Favor on Employment Discrimination Claims