In Marcus v. Leviton Mfg. Co., No. 15CV656SJFGRB, 2016 WL 74415 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 6, 2016), the Eastern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s age discrimination case for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Although this plaintiff loses, Judge Feuerstein’s decision is instructive regarding what judges look for when evaluating…
Read More Pleading Lessons From a Dismissed Age Discrimination CaseIn Haight v. NYU Langone Med. Ctr., Inc., No. 13 CIV. 4993 (LGS), 2016 WL 29628 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 4, 2016), the Southern District of New York denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s sex-based hostile work environment (sexual harassment) and disability discrimination claims, but granted it with respect to her negligent supervision/retention claims. (2014…
Read More Pediatric Nurse’s Sexual Harassment and Disability Discrimination Claims Against NYU Langone Medical Center Survive Summary JudgmentIn Martinez v. Mount Sinai Hosp., No. 14 CIV. 2548 (PAC), 2015 WL 9450624 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 22, 2015), the court dismissed plaintiff’s failure-to-accommodate-disability claims under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL). The law: To prevail on her NYCHRL and NYSHRL claims, Plaintiff bears the initial burden…
Read More Failure to Request Specific Accommodation Results in Dismissal of Disability Discrimination (Failure to Accommodate) ClaimsIn Alexander-Callender v. NBTY et al, No. 14-CV-2462 (JS)(AYS), 2015 WL 9581819 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 30, 2015), the Eastern District of New York dismissed, as insufficiently pled, plaintiff’s sexual harassment (hostile work environment), race discrimination, and retaliation claims. In her complaint, plaintiff alleged that a co-worker, for example, stared at plaintiff in a “sexually inappropriate manner”…
Read More Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment Claim Insufficiently AllegedIn a lawsuit filed on December 30, 2015 in New York Supreme Court (Figueroa v. Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Sweden et al., Index # 163141/2015), plaintiff Carlos Figueroa, a chauffeur and office clerk employed by the Sweden’s New York Mission to the United Nations, asserts various claims, including for personal injuries (sustained while assembling…
Read More Personal Injury and Discrimination Lawsuit Against Sweden’s New York Mission to the United NationsIn Tate v. Levy Rest. Holdings, LLC, No. 14-CV-2056, 2015 WL 9076230 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 16, 2015), the court stated and applied the standard for awarding attorney fees to a prevailing defendant in an employment discrimination case. You can read about the Eastern District’s dismissal of claims brought by the plaintiff – a gay male waiter who…
Read More Court Denies Attorney Fees to Prevailing Defendant in Sexual Orientation Discrimination CaseIn Dooley v. JetBlue Airways Corp., No. 15-1356-CV, 2015 WL 9261293 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2015), a Summary Order, the Second Circuit vacated the dismissal of plaintiff’s claim of disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Initially, the court held, contrary to the district court, that plaintiff sufficiently alleged discrimination under the ADA.…
Read More Plaintiff Sufficiently Alleged Disability Discrimination Against JetBlueIn employment law, the term “constructive discharge” is used to describe a scenario in which, in sum, an employee is not terminated (i.e. discharged) directly by the employer, but rather that things got so bad that they were, in essence, “forced to quit.” As recently explained by the court in Ingrassia v. Health & Hosp.…
Read More What is a “Constructive Discharge”?In Bright v. Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, Inc., No. 14-4465-CV, 2015 WL 9261278 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2015), the Second Circuit affirmed the lower court’s decision granting summary judgment judgment, of plaintiffs’ race-based hostile work environment claims. As to the merits, the Second Circuit incorporated the district court’s analysis and conclusion, adding that “[m]any of the comments and incidents…
Read More Second Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Dismissing Hostile Work Environment Claims; Says District Court Properly Declined to Consider Post-Deposition AffidavitsIn Dingle v. Bimbo Bakeries USA/Entenmann’s, No. 14-1215-CV, 2015 WL 8952903 (2d Cir. Dec. 16, 2015), the Second Circuit vacated the dismissal, for failure to state a claim under FRCP 12(b)(6), of plaintiff’s employment discrimination complaints. Plaintiff’s allegations, in a nutshell: Dingle alleged that a photo of a nude man resembling Dingle was distributed among employees who made…
Read More Second Circuit Revives “Perceived Sexual Orientation Discrimination” Claim