Hostile Work Environment

In Schmitt v. City of New York et al, 15-CV-05992, 2018 WL 5777019 (E.D.N.Y. Nov. 1, 2018), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s disability-related hostile work environment claims. This decision teaches, among other things, that the facts underlying such claims must be evaluated as a whole, rather than piecemeal.…

Read More Disability-Related Hostile Work Environment Claims Survive Summary Judgment
Share This:

In Stern v. State University of New York et al, 2018 WL 4863588 (EDNY Sept. 30, 2018), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. The court summarized the well-established law in this area: To establish a hostile work environment under Title VII …, a plaintiff must show that ‘the workplace is permeated…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Not Sufficiently Alleged Against SUNY
Share This:

A recent case, decided by the Eastern District of New York on October 17, 2018, illustrates what does – and, as relevant here, does not – qualify as a “hostile work environment.” The decision is Thompson v. MTA New York City Transit et al, 17-cv-5857, 2018 WL 5045762 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 17, 2018). The court outlines…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; While “Tasteless and Offensive”, Messages Were Not Related to a Protected Class
Share This:

In Yaghi v. Pioneer Bank, 16-cv-663, 2018 WL 4903226 (N.D.N.Y. Oct. 9, 2018), the court dismissed plaintiff’s claims of discrimination, retaliation, and hostile work environment. As to the plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim, the court explained: Even construing Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint and his arguments in opposition to summary judgment broadly, there are only two events…

Read More Title VII Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; “Be Careful of Those Arabs” Comment Insufficient
Share This:

In Parsons v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 16-CV-0408, 2018 WL 4861379 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2018), the court, inter alia, granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s race-based hostile work environment claims. Plaintiff alleged, for example, that she witnessed one person make disparaging comments about African-American employees’ hair and dress, and “listened to her direct…

Read More Race-Based Hostile Work Environment Claims Dismissed; Conduct Was Merely “Mildly Offensive”
Share This:

In a recently-filed lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asserts that a well-known restaurant, Christini’s, created, permitted, and encouraged a sex-based hostile work environment for a female bartender – including that the owner propositioned her for dates, subjected to sexual innuendo, and told to dress “sexy” and “date ready” – and then terminated her…

Read More EEOC Sues Christini’s Ristorante Italiano for Gender Discrimination
Share This:

From Kho v. New York and Presbyterian Hospital, 2018 WL 4759739 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2018): The Hospital is entitled to summary judgment on Kho’s hostile work environment claims. These claims appear predicated on: (1) Holmes’ [plaintiff’s manager] comments regarding Kho’s accent and (2) occasions on which Holmes allegedly yelled at Kho. [T]he Court declines to…

Read More Court Explains Dismissal of Plaintiff’s Accent-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim
Share This:

From Gebrial Rasmy, Plaintiff, v. Marriott International, Inc., d/b/a JW Marriott Essex House Hotel, et al., Defendants., 2018 WL 4682231 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2018): Plaintiff writes in his opposition brief that Efstratiou would tell Plaintiff, who he knew to be a devout Christian, that “God is garbage” and “Religions [are] for the stupid people,” but…

Read More Court Dismisses Christian’s “Anti-Religion” Discrimination/Hostile Work Environment Claim; Comments Not Made Directly to Plaintiff Deemed “Stray Remarks”
Share This:

In Maines et al v. Last Chance Funding, Inc. d/b/a The LCF Group et al, 2018 WL 4558408 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2018), the court clarified the standard for imposing liability on individual defendants under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), N.Y. Executive Law § 290 et seq. The statute, explained the court, provides for…

Read More Court Explains Standard for Individual Liability for a Hostile Work Environment Under the New York State Human Rights Law
Share This:

In Maines et al v. Last Chance Funding, Inc. d/b/a The LCF Group et al, 2018 WL 4558408 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 21, 2018), the court, inter alia, held that one plaintiff (Alexandre) sufficiently stated a claim for hostile work environment based on gender in a proposed amended complaint.[1]The court also held that this particular plaintiff also sufficiently alleged…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Sufficiently Alleged; Claims Include Inappropriate Touching and Viewing Pornography
Share This: