Court: U.S. Court of Appeals 2nd Circuit

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In Johnstone v. Village of Monticello & Gordon Jenkins, No. 16-2225, 2017 WL 1521475 (2d Cir. Apr. 28, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a race-based hostile work environment claim asserted by a white police officer. This case is unique, for at least the reason that the comments giving rise to…

Read More 2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of White Police Officer’s Hostile Work Environment Case Arising From Anti-White Comments by African American Arrestee
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In Daniel v. T & M Protection Resources, LLC, No. 15-560-CV, 2017 WL 1476598 (2d Cir. Apr. 25, 2017) (Summary Order), the court vacated the district court’s summary judgment in favor of plaintiff on plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. (The court issued its ruling one week after it heard oral argument in the case.) While it…

Read More Second Circuit Reinstates Gay Black Man’s Hostile Work Environment Claims
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In Alvarado v. Nordstrom, Inc., No. 16-971-CV, 2017 WL 1175654 (2d Cir. Mar. 29, 2017) (Summary Order), the court vacated the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s retaliation claim under the NYC Human Rights Law. It affirmed its dismissal, however, of plaintiff’s race discrimination and hostile work environment claims (as well as his retaliation claims under federal…

Read More NYC Human Rights Law Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Race Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment Claims Properly Dismissed
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In Balk v. New York Institute of Technology, No. 16-984-CV, 2017 WL 1103428, (2d Cir. Mar. 23, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the race, national origin, and religious discrimination claims asserted by the plaintiff. The court considered, and rejected, plaintiff’s reliance on the so-called “customer preference” doctrine, which provides (in sum) that…

Read More 2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Non-Muslim American Professor’s Race/Religion/National Origin Discrimination Claims
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In Christensen v. Omnicom Group Inc., No. 16-748, 2017 WL 1130183 (2d Cir. Mar. 27, 2017), the Second Circuit overturned a lower court decision that dismissed (under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)) the discrimination claim by plaintiff, an openly gay man, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In sum, the Second…

Read More Second Circuit Permits Gay Man’s Title VII Discrimination Case to Proceed on Gender Stereotyping Theory
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In Stevens v. Rite Aid Corp., No. 15-277(L), 2017 WL 1055566 (2d Cir. Mar. 21, 2017), the Second Circuit reversed a lower court decision in favor of the plaintiff on his wrongful termination and retaliation claims, and affirmed its dismissal of plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate claim, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state law. Plaintiff, a pharmacist, suffers…

Read More 2d Circuit Rules Against Needle-Fearing Pharmacist on Disability Discrimination Claims
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Over the years, courts have developed a sophisticated burden-shifting analysis and framework for evaluating employment discrimination and retaliation claims under the various anti-discrimination statutes, such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. A recent decision explains why a jury should not be…

Read More 2d Circuit Highlights The Difference Between Roles of Judge and Jury in Employment Discrimination Case
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In Meyer v. New York State Office of Mental Health (2d Cir. 16-1163-cv March 10, 2017) (summary order), the Second Circuit affirmed the summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s gender and religious discrimination claims. As to plaintiff’s gender discrimination claim, the court explained: Even assuming arguendo that Meyer made a prima facie case of gender discrimination,…

Read More 2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Doctor’s Gender- and Religious-Based Discrimination Claims
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In Carris v. First Student, Inc., 15-3350 (2d Cir. March 8, 2017) (summary order), the Second Circuit vacated the dismissal of plaintiff’s Title VII race discrimination claim. The law: To survive a motion to dismiss, a Title VII plaintiff does not have to plead a full prima facie case pursuant to the first stage of…

Read More 2d Circuit Vacates Title VII Race Discrimination Claim Dismissal
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In Sheng v. M&TBank Corp., No. 14-4467-CV, 2017 WL 443641 (2d Cir. Feb. 2, 2017), a pregnancy discrimination case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the defendant/employer’s offer to reinstate the plaintiff/employee was conditioned on plaintiff dropping her lawsuit, and was therefore inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 408. In…

Read More 2d Circuit: Reinstatement Offer Conditioned on Foregoing Pregnancy Discrimination Case Should Have Been Excluded; Defense Verdict Overturned
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