Employment Discrimination

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In Yang Zhao v. Keuka College, 2017 WL 3917145 (W.D.N.Y., 2017), plaintiff – a U.S. Citizen of Chinese origin – alleged that she was denied tenure because of her ethnicity, race, and national origin. The court held that plaintiff did not sufficiently allege a hostile work environment claim: Plaintiff has not alleged a hostile work…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Not Alleged; Discrete Incident of Discrimination Relating to Denial of Tenure Not Enough
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In Butterfield-Bajinan v. City of New York, 2017 WL 4045175 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 11, 2017), the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Title VII race discrimination claim as insufficiently alleged. The court explained what a plaintiff asserting such a claim must allege: To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint alleging employment discrimination under Title…

Read More Title VII Race Discrimination Claim Dismissed; Court Cites Lack of Alleged Racial Comments or Favorable Treatment of “Similarly Situated” Caucasian Employees
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In Yang Zhao v. Keuka College, 2017 WL 3917145 (W.D.N.Y., 2017), plaintiff – a U.S. Citizen of Chinese origin – alleges that she was denied tenure because of her ethnicity, race, and national origin. The court granted plaintiff’s motion to amend her complaint to add a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, finding that plaintiff…

Read More Chinese Professor Plausibly Alleges Intentional Discrimination Under 42 U.S.C. 1981; May Amend Complaint
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In Mehulic v. New York Downtown Hosp., 2017 NY Slip Op 06416 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Sept. 12, 2017), the court reversed the trial court’s Order granting defendant summary judgment on plaintiff’s retaliation claim under Labor Law § 741 on the ground of collateral estoppel. From the decision: However, the motion court erred in finding that plaintiff’s…

Read More Whistleblower (NY Labor Law § 741) Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment; OPMC Rulings Did Not Operate as Collateral Estoppel
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In Percy v. The State of New York (Hudson Valley DDSO), Local 412 of the CSEA, Inc., Local 1000, AFSCME AFL-CIO, Basil Townsend, 264 F.Supp.3d 574, 585 (S.D.N.Y. 2017), the court explained: Courts are split on the question of whether rejecting unwanted sexual advances constitutes protected activity. See Little, 210 F. Supp. 2d at 385-86…

Read More Rejecting a Supervisor’s Sexual Advances is “Protected Activity” For Purposes of a Retaliation Claim, Court Holds
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In Carrington v. Mota & City of New York, 2017 WL 3835883 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 31, 2017),[1]I wrote about the court’s evaluation of plaintiff’s “disparate treatment” race discrimination claim here. the court recommended the dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. From the decision: Carrington’s factual allegations do not create a plausible inference that she has…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; “Nasty Tone” Was Not “Severe”, and Alleged Hostility Was Disconnected From Employee’s Race
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In Kpaka v. City University of New York, 2017 WL 3866642 (2d Cir. 16-3527 Sept. 5, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s race discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court explained the standards applicable to evaluating the sufficiency of a discrimination claim: To…

Read More Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Race Discrimination Claims as Time-Barred and Based on Different Treatment of a Non-Similarly-Situated White Employee
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From Morse v. Fidessa Corp., 2017 NY Slip Op 27276 (Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Aug. 8, 2017): Here, plaintiff alleges that he was told he was fired because of his perceived marriage to Wakefield and that he would be considered for future employment if he ended his marriage with Wakefield (complaint ¶¶ 42, 43; proposed amended complaint…

Read More NYCHRL Marital Status Discrimination Claim Survives Dismissal
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In Milione v. City Univ. of N.Y., 2017 (App. Div. 2d Dept. Aug. 23, 2017), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s employment discrimination claims. Plaintiff, an Italian American, initially sued in federal court, alleging that “defendants discriminated and retaliated against him based on his national origin and his advocacy for Italian Americans.” The federal court…

Read More Federal Court’s Dismissal of Plaintiff’s Employment Discrimination Operates as Collateral Estoppel as to State and City Human Rights Law Claims
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In O’Halloran v. Metropolitan Transp. Auth., 2017 NY Slip Op 06237 (Aug. 22, 2017), the court addressed the following narrow issue on appeal: [W]hether the motion court providently permitted plaintiff to amend her complaint to include belated claims of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation on the ground that those claims related back to the original pleading,…

Read More Sexual Orientation Discrimination Claims Rendered Timely Under the “Relation Back” Doctrine, CPLR 203(f)
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