In Dunn v. URS Corp., 13-cv-6626 (SDNY Jan. 12, 2015), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff, an African American man, sufficiently alleged race discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff alleged that defendants failed to promote him, paid him less than what similarly situated employees received, failed…
Read More Raises Given to Others Supports Race Discrimination ClaimWhat is “work”? In Gibbs v. City of New York (SDNY Jan. 23, 2015), the court held that plaintiffs’ required attendance at alcohol treatment and counseling sessions was not compensable “work” within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq. Plaintiffs were identified by their employer (the NYPD) as…
Read More Employer-Mandated Alcohol Counseling is Not “Work” Under the FLSA, Court HoldsIn a Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi (SDNY 1/28/15), a decision issued in the sexual harassment lawsuit brought by Alexandra Marchuk against Faruqi & Faruqi, Juan Monteverde, and others, Southern District of New York Judge Hellerstein addresses defendants’ motion, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 50, for Judgment as a Matter of Law (JMOL). Among other…
Read More Decision on Post-Trial Motion in Marchuk v. Faruqi & Faruqi Sexual Harassment CaseIn Carter v. Verizon, decided January 20, 2015, the Southern District of New York dismissed all of plaintiff’s gender and age discrimination claims, except for his gender discrimination / hostile work environment claim under the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). After dismissing plaintiff’s federal and state law claims, the court proceeded to assess plaintiff’s…
Read More Male Employee (Barely) Survives Dismissal of Hostile Work Environment Claim Under the New York City Human Rights LawIn Idlisan v. Mount Sinai Medical Center (decided January 9, 2015), the Southern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s claim that he was not hired because of his race, national origin, disability, and conviction history. Title VII In dismissing plaintiff’s Title VII claims, the court – citing Second Circuit precedent for the principle that “feelings and…
Read More Court Reiterates That Mere “Perception” of Discrimination is Insufficient to Survive Summary JudgmentIn Atkins v. Pitney Bowes Management Services et al., decided Jan. 12, 2015, Southern District of New York Judge Koeltl granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on pro se plaintiff’s Title VII race and religious discrimination and retaliation claims. The court held that defendants proffered a non-discriminatory reason for plaintiff’s termination – namely, plaintiff’s failure…
Read More “You People” Remark Insufficient to Support Race Discrimination ClaimIn Gorman v. Covidien Sales, LLC, decided December 31, 2014, the Southern District of New York discussed the affirmative defense based on the so-called “after-acquired evidence” doctrine/defense. In this employment discrimination case, plaintiff sought “damages for alleged discrimination on the basis of military status and medical disability, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress during his…
Read More Defendants May Amend Answer to Assert the “After-Acquired Evidence” Defense in Discrimination Case Where Plaintiff Recorded Phone Conversations With SupervisorHere and below is the lawsuit, captioned Meyers v. Revlon, Inc. et al., 14-CV-10213, recently filed by Alan Meyers against Revlon, Inc. and Revlon Consumer Products Corp. Plaintiff alleges that defendant’s CEO/President Lorenzo Delpani subjected him to discrimination based on his race/ethnicity/religion (Jewish) and national origin. From the complaint: [R]eflecting his Anti-American and Anti-Semitic biases, Delpani treated…
Read More Lawsuit Alleges Anti-Semitic, Anti-American Discrimination/Harassment by Revlon CEO Lorenzo DelpaniOne of the ways to establish “pretext” in the employment discrimination/retaliation analysis is to point to “inconsistent employer explanations” for the employee’s termination. That is what happened in Encarnacion v. Isabella Geriatric Center, decided by the Southern District of New York on December 12, 2014. There, plaintiff, a nurse, alleged (among other things) that she…
Read More Court Denies Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment on Plaintiff’s Retaliation Claims, Citing Inconsistent and Contradictory Explanations for TerminationHere is the complaint recently filed by plaintiff against his employer, Wall Street Languages, Ltd. (d/b/a Rennert International), alleging sexual harassment. Specifically, plaintiff claims that his male supervisor subjected him to numerous instances of harassing conduct, including asking plaintiff about the size of his penis and inviting him to an all-male, naked pool party.
Read More Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Wall Street Languages d/b/a Rennert International