FRCP 12(b)(6)

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In Rock v. Blaine, 2015 WL 3795886 (NDNY June 17, 2015), the court denied defendant State of New York’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s retaliation claim against it. Plaintiff, a corrections officer, sued the State of New York and three individuals under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, alleging retaliation for making a…

Read More Female Corrections Officer Sufficiently Alleges Retaliation Against the State of New York
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In Catapano-Fox v. City of New York, No. 14 CIV. 8036 KPF, 2015 WL 3630725 (S.D.N.Y. June 11, 2015), the Southern District of New York denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim that she was fired in retaliation for complaining about sexual harassment. This decision provides a good overview of the legal principles governing the proper…

Read More Retaliation Claim, Based on Termination in Response to Sexual Harassment Complaints, May Proceed
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The Southern District of New York recently denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint alleging sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation against Urban Outfitters. In Swiderski v. Urban Outfitters, 14-cv-6307, 2015 WL 3513088 (SDNY June 4, 2015), the court held that the plaintiff pleaded an actionable hostile work environment claim based on the conduct…

Read More Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit (Based in Part on Customer Conduct) Against Urban Outfitters Continues
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A recent decision, DeLaurencio v. Brooklyn Children’s Center, Superintendent (EDNY May 29, 2015), reiterates that Title VII is not a “general civility code” and that “[w]ork environments that are hostile for non-discriminatory reasons do not fall within the ambit of Title VII.” In this case, the court held that none of the allegations in plaintiff’s…

Read More Employment Discrimination / Hostile Work Environment Allegations Amounting to Rude Conduct Unmotivated by Discriminatory Animus Fail to State a Claim
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In Leon v. NYC Dept. of Education, a Summary Order dated May 22, 2015, the Second Circuit vacated the dismissal of plaintiff’s age/disability discrimination, retaliation, and accommodation claims, and held that a finding pursuant to NY Education § 3020-a that a teacher was fired for “cause” does not necessarily preclude a viable claim for (e.g.) discriminatory termination…

Read More Employment Discrimination Claims Not Collaterally Estopped By Finding That Teacher Was Fired For “Cause” Under New York Education Law § 3020-a
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A recent decision, Moultrie v. NYS Dep’t of Corr. & Cmty. Supervision, No. 13-CV-5138 NSR, 2015 WL 2151827 (S.D.N.Y. May 7, 2015), elaborates on how to prove employment discrimination with so-called “comparator” evidence. In this case, plaintiff, a Corrections Officer trainee at Sing Sing prison, was fired for, among other things, bringing a SIM card…

Read More Gender Discrimination Complaint Dismissed; Alleged Male Comparators Engaged in Less Serious Conduct
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In Petyan v. New York City Law Dept., 14-cv-1434, 2015 WL 1855961 (SDNY April 23, 2015), the court recommended the dismissal of plaintiff’s national origin (Israeli) discrimination and hostile work environment claims, but held that plaintiff plausibly alleged retaliation in the form of a negative performance evaluation. The court held: The law in [the Second] Circuit…

Read More Retaliation Claim, But Not National Origin Discrimination Claim, Survives Dismissal
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In Kane v. 247 Real Media, 14-cv-2482, 2015 WL 1623832 (SDNY April 7, 2015), the court explained and applied the “administrative exhaustion” requirement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff – a transgender woman – alleged that she was subjected to discrimination based on her race, color, gender, and national origin.…

Read More Failure to File at EEOC Dooms Federal Transgender Discrimination Claims
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In Graham v. Macy’s, Inc., SDNY 14-cv-3192 (March 23, 2015), Southern District Judge Paul Engelmayer granted defendant Macys’ motion to dismiss the pro se plaintiff’s claims of discrimination based on disability (here, arthritis and bipolar disorder) under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Although Judge Engelmayer determined that plaintiff’s complaint was deficient – citing, for example,…

Read More Disability Discrimination Roadmap
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In Heiser v. Collorafi et al. (NDNY March 9, 2015), the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York held that plaintiff, a former employee of the New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, sufficiently alleged hostile work environment sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of…

Read More Inappropriate Emails and Sexual Comments Plausibly Support Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment Claim
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