Employment Discrimination

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Unlike Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State and City Human Rights Laws do provide for individual liability in certain circumstances. A recent decision, Popat v. Levy et al, No. 1:15-CV-01052 EAW, 2017 WL 2210762 (W.D.N.Y. May 19, 2017), explains and applies the principles regarding individual liability under the…

Read More Race/National Origin Discrimination Claims Plausibly Alleged Against Individual
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A recent Tenth Circuit decision, Jones v. Needham Trucking LLC et al, 16-6156 (10th Cir. May 12, 2017), illustrates the close relationship between the court-recognized “hostile work environment” and “quid pro quo” forms of sexual harassment. The district court granted defendants’ partial motion to dismiss, holding that plaintiff failed to exhaust his administrative remedies for…

Read More 10th Circuit Holds That Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment Claim Was Exhausted in EEOC Filing
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In Hruska v. Bohemian Citizens’ Benevolent Socy. of Astoria, Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 30423(U) (NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty. 158593/2014 March 2, 2017) – a national origin discrimination and retaliation case – the court granted plaintiff’s motion for leave to reargue (under CPLR 2221(d)(2)) the court dismissal of plaintiff’s retaliation claim under the New York…

Read More Retaliation Claim Proceeds Based on Temporal Proximity Between Lawyer’s Demand Letter and Adverse Action
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In Dotson v. City of Syracuse, No. 15-3631, 2017 WL 1437131, at *2 (2d Cir. Apr. 24, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit held that the district court improperly dismissing plaintiff’s gender discrimination claim. Among other things, this decision teaches that at the “pretext” step of the discrimination claim analysis, the evidence must be considered…

Read More Gender Discrimination, But Not Retaliation, Claim Continues Against City of Syracuse; District Court Did Not Consider All Circumstances When Evaluating Pretext
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In Evert v. Wyoming Cty. Cmty. Health Sys., No. 14-CV-912S, 2017 WL 1832051 (W.D.N.Y. May 8, 2017) (J. Skretny), the court dismissed plaintiff’s gender discrimination/harassment claim. Plaintiff, a prison nurse, alleged, among other things, that corrections officers began harassing her after she received a letter from an inmate she had treated. After reciting the law…

Read More Court Explains Reasons For Dismissing Prison Nurse’s Title VII Gender-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim
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In Campbell v. Nat’l Fuel Gas Distribution Corp., No. 1:13-CV-00438 EAW, 2017 WL 1957829 (W.D.N.Y. May 11, 2017), the court granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed plaintiff’s Title VII gender discrimination claim. While plaintiff presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case, her case fell apart at the third step of the analysis.…

Read More Title VII Gender Discrimination Case Dismissed; Actions By “Tough Supervisor” Who “Did Not Like” Plaintiff Not Shown to Have Exhibited Unlawful Bias
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In Kimmel v. State, No. 36, 2017 WL 1838940 (N.Y. May 9, 2017), the New York Court of Appeals (the state’s highest court) held that the state Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), codified at CPLR Article 86, “permits the award of attorneys’ fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff in an action against the State…

Read More NY Court of Appeals: Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA) Permits Award of Attorney Fees to Prevailing Plaintiffs in Actions Against NY State Under the NYS Human Rights Law For Sex Discrimination in Employment By a State Agency
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In Ahmed v. Astoria Bank et al, No. 16-1389-CV, 2017 WL 1906726 (2d Cir. May 9, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit vacated a summary to defendants on plaintiff’s claims that she was subjected to a hostile work environment because she is Egyptian and Muslim, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act…

Read More Egyptian Muslim’s Hostile Work Environment Claim Against Astoria Bank Survives Summary Judgment
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Pursuant to a May 5, 2017 Consent Decree in EEOC v. Special Education Associates (EDNY 17-cv-1791) (a failure-to-hire sex discrimination case), the defendant must pay $57,000 in damages to the underlying complainant, comprising $20,000 in back pay and $37,000 in compensatory damages.[1]The Decree contains other remedial measures, such as requiring the defendant to distribute an antidiscrimination…

Read More EEOC Consent Decree Entered in Failure-to-Hire Sex Discrimination Case
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In Philpott v. State of New York, No. 16 CIV. 6778 (AKH), 2017 WL 1750398 (S.D.N.Y. May 3, 2017) (J. Hellerstein), the court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claims for sexual orientation discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. From the opinion: [P]laintiff has adequately…

Read More Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss
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