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

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In Uzoukwu v. City of New York, No. 13-3483-CV, 2015 WL 6742739 (2d Cir. Nov. 5, 2015), a false arrest/excessive force case, the Second Circuit vacated a judgment entered following a jury verdict for defendants. The facts, briefly: Plaintiff was sitting on a park bench near a playground. Park rules prohibited adults unaccompanied by children…

Read More Second Circuit Revives False Arrest Case Following Improper Jury Instruction on “Obstruction of Governmental Administration”
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In Sosa v. Local Staff LLC (14-3704-cv), a Summary Order issued by the Second Circuit on Oct. 9, 2015, the court discussed what constitutes “protected activity” for purposes of asserting a retaliation claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the NYC Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). In this employment discrimination case,…

Read More Complaint About “You’re So Street” Comment Was Not “Protected Activity”; Retaliation Claim Properly Dismissed
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In Gordon v. City of New York, 14-545-cv (2d Cir. 2015), the Second Circuit affirmed, in a summary order, the dismissal of plaintiffs’ First Amendment retaliation and hostile work environment claims. The facts, as summarized by the court: While working as emergency medical technicians (“EMTs”) for the New York City Fire Department (“FDNY”), plaintiffs Tomeko…

Read More Second Circuit: No Hostile Work Environment Where Black Woman and White Male Were Subjected to Similar Treatment
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In Vega v. Hempstead Union Free Sch. Dist., No. 14-2265-CV, 2015 WL 5127519 (2d Cir. Sept. 2, 2015), the Second Circuit held that plaintiff, a state employee, stated a claim for discrimination (based on his Hispanic ethnicity) and retaliation, and thus vacated the lower court’s order granting defendant’s motion for judgment on the pleadings under…

Read More Second Circuit Holds That Teacher Stated Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
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In Littlejohn v. City of New York, No. 14-1395-CV, 2015 WL 4604250 (2d Cir. Aug. 3, 2015), the Second Circuit clarified the pleading standards applicable to employment discrimination claims. Plaintiff, an African American woman, alleged that, while employed by the New York City Administration for Children’s Services, she was subjected to a hostile work environment and…

Read More Second Circuit Clarifies Pleading Standard For Employment Discrimination Cases
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In Burgis v. New York City Dept. of Sanitation (2d Cir. July 31, 2015), a putative class action race discrimination case brought by members of the NYC Dept. of Sanitation, the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiffs’ claims under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and 42 USC 1981 and Title VII of the…

Read More Class Action Race Discrimination Case Properly Dismissed; Intent, Statistics Insufficiently Alleged
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In Tolbert v. Smith et al, decided by the Second Circuit on June 24, 2015, the court vacated the district court’s judgment dismissing plaintiff’s claims of race discrimination (and affirmed it with respect to his hostile work environment and defamation claims). This case is instructive on the “prima facie case” portion of the employment discrimination analysis. Plaintiff, a…

Read More Non-Tenured, Probationary Teacher Establishes Prima Facie Case of Race Discrimination
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Most people, especially this guy, know that saying the word “bomb” in/near an airplane or airport is a bad idea. In Baez v. JetBlue, 14-2754-cv (2nd Cir. July 16, 2015), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of an irate passenger’s lawsuit arising from actions taken by JetBlue and its employee in…

Read More Airline and Agent Not Liable for False Arrest, Defamation, etc. For Reporting Angry Passenger’s Bomb Comment
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In Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures (decided July 2, 2015), the Second Circuit addressed a question of first impression in this Circuit, namely, when an unpaid intern is entitled to compensation as an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In this case, unpaid interns working on the Fox Seachlight-distributed film Black Swan or at Fox’s…

Read More Second Circuit Clarifies When Interns are “Employees”, and Entitled to Wages, Under the FLSA
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In Hand v. NYC Housing Preservation and Development Division of Code Enforcement, a summary order decided by the Second Circuit on May 26, 2015, the courtvacated the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment sexual harassment claim. The court explained: Based on record evidence that Hand’s supervisor felt her breast and repeatedly invaded her…

Read More Supervisor Breast-Touch Results in Continuation of Title VII Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment Case
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