In a recently-filed lawsuit, captioned Kelly Cahill et al v. Nike, Inc. (U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, Index No. 18-cv-01477, filed August 9, 2018), the plaintiffs (individually and on behalf of others similarly situated) allege gender discrimination under the federal Equal Pay Act, 29 U.S.C. § 206(d) and related state laws (the…
Read More Just Sue It: Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Against NikeIn Keaton v. Unique People Services, Inc., 15-cv-5354, 2018 WL 3708658 (S.D.N.Y., 2018), the court granted defendants’ (unopposed) motion for summary judgment motion and dismissed plaintiff’s employment discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, finding that the persons to whom plaintiff sought to compare herself were not “similarly situated” to…
Read More Title VII Discrimination Claim Dismissed; Comparators Were Not “Similarly Situated” to PlaintiffIn McLeod v. General Vision Services, Inc. et al, 13-cv-6824, 2018 WL 3745662 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 6, 2018), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion on plaintiff’s race- and age-based hostile work environment claims. The court noted – in the portion of the decision where it assessed plaintiff’s race discrimination claims[1]The court dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination claims…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Racial EpithetsIn Spano v. New Team LLC, No. 153586/16, 2018 WL 3646977, 2018 N.Y. Slip Op. 31829(U) (Sup Ct, New York County Aug. 01, 2018), plaintiff alleged that defendants failed to hire and promote her because she was not a first-generation Italian, and that defendants improperly terminated her after she complained of discriminatory conduct. The court, inter…
Read More Citing Preference for “First Generation Italian”, Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Employment Discrimination ClaimIn Mohan v. City of New York et al, 17-cv-3820, 2018 WL 3711821 (SDNY Aug. 3, 2018), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s race-based hostile work environment claim. The court began by reciting the well-established “black letter” law applicable to hostile work environment claims: A hostile work environment claim is composed of a series of separate acts…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; Secondhand Knowledge of “Black Guy” Comment InsufficientIn Refermat v. Lancaster Central School District, 14-CV-0712, 2018 WL 3640220 (W.D.N.Y. Aug. 1, 2018), the court adopted a Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation to grant defendant’s summary judgment motion as to plaintiff’s constructive discharge claim, but to deny it as to plaintiff’s hostile work environment and retaliation claims. In this blog post I will…
Read More Dispute as to Discriminatory Intent Supports Denial of Summary Judgment as to Plaintiff’s Hostile Work Environment ClaimIn Suri v. Grey Global Group, Inc., 2018 NY Slip Op 05627 (App. Div. 1st Dept. August 2, 2018), the Appellate Division, First Department, modified a lower court decision, finding that summary judgment was improperly granted to defendant on plaintiff’s sexual harassment claim under the NYC Human Rights Law.[1]It nonetheless agreed that the lower court properly…
Read More Hostile Work Environment / Sexual Harassment Claim Under the NYC Human Rights Law Resurrected From Summary Judgment DismissalThe fact pattern underlying the court’s decision in Maidana v. Boston Culinary Group, Inc., 16-cv-2342, 2018 WL 3614111 (E.D.N.Y. July 27, 2018), are (to say the least) disturbing: Plaintiff worked as a bartender for Defendant’s Fig’s Café located in LaGuardia Airport, Terminal B (hereinafter “Fig’s Café” or “Defendant”). (See Compl. ¶ 8–10.) An incident occurred…
Read More Court Dismisses LAG Bartender’s Discrimination Claim Following Alleged Customer HarassmentIn Abreu et al v. Fairway Market LLC et al, 17-cv-9532, 2018 WL 3579107 (S.D.N.Y. July 24, 2018), the court granted defendants’ motion to compel arbitration of plaintiffs’ employment discrimination claims under the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq. In this case, plaintiffs alleged “that Fairway Market and its employees discriminated and…
Read More Court Grants Motion to Compel Arbitration; Economic Duress Argument RejectedIn Saber v. New York State Department of Financial Services, 15-cv-5944, 2018 WL 3491695 (S.D.N.Y. July 20, 2018), the court held that the jury’s $2.5 million verdict was excessive, and held that $125k was more appropriate. The court summarized the evidence of emotional distress as follows: At the trial, Plaintiff testified that he felt “extremely…
Read More Court Remits $2.5 Million Emotional Distress Jury Award to $125,000 in Discrimination Case