Hostile Work Environment

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In Glenn v. Fuji Grill Niagara Falls, LLC, No. 14-CV-380S, 2016 WL 1557751 (W.D.N.Y. Apr. 18, 2016), the court discussed whether and to what extent a party who has accepted an “Offer of Judgment” in a Title VII discrimination suit may thereafter seek costs, including attorney fees. The answer, unsurprisingly, turns on the terms of…

Read More Accepted Offer of Judgment Did Not Foreclose Attorney Fees in Discrimination/Hostile Work Environment Case
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In a lawsuit filed this week, captioned Villalta v. JS Barkats PLLC and Sunny Barkats, 16-cv-2772 (SDNY filed April 13, 2016), plaintiff asserts claims of gender discrimination and quid pro quo and hostile work environment sexual harassment against a Manhattan law firm and its owner. Plaintiff alleges, among other things: Defendant [Sunny] Barkats exploited Plaintiff, who…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Manhattan Law Firm JS Barkats PLLC
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In Guzman v. Concavage Marine Constr. Inc., No. 14-CV-8587 (KMK), 2016 WL 1273285 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2016), the court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss/strike plaintiff’s allegation that he suffered a physical workplace injury as a result of his employer’s owner’s racist attitude towards him, in violation of 42 U.S.C. 1981. This decision is instructive as…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Arising From Alleged Racism-Caused Bodily Injury Proceeds
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In Lopez v. Advantage Plumbing & Mech. Corp., No. 15-CV-4507 (AJN), 2016 WL 1268274 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 31, 2016), the court held, among other things, that plaintiffs could amend their complaint to add a national origin discrimination (hostile work environment) claim under the NYC Human Rights Law (but not federal or state law) based on defendants’ “English-only”…

Read More “English Only” National Origin Discrimination Hostile Work Environment Claim Plausibly Alleged Under NYC Human Rights Law
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In Alex v. Gen. Elec. Co., No. 12-cv-1021, 2016 WL 1057042 (N.D.N.Y. Mar. 14, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s race-based hostile work environment claim. From the decision: Plaintiff’s deposition testimony that one or more unidentified co-workers told Plaintiff that Defendant Lanoue had referred to Plaintiff as “N—–” (behind her back) is inadmissible. Specifically, the alleged statements…

Read More Court Dismisses Race Discrimination/Hostile Work Environment Claim; “N-Word” Evidence Was Inadmissible Hearsay
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In a lawsuit captioned Tomahawk v. 207-215 W 98th St. Condominium et al (NY Sup. Ct. NY Cty. 152509/2016, filed March 23, 2016), the plaintiff – a disabled Native American and Hispanic porter at a Manhattan building – alleges that he was subjected to discrimination based on his disability and Native American heritage. From the…

Read More Disparaging Remarks About Native Americans Alleged in Manhattan Employment Discrimination Lawsuit
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In Cappelli v. Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc, No. 1:13-CV-3481-GHW, 2016 WL 958642 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 8, 2016), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s employment discrimination and retaliation claims. Plaintiff, a male building superintendent, complained about the following conduct at work: I have been the victim of sexual harassment that has been performed…

Read More Merely Witnessing Sexual Conduct Held Insufficient to Establish a Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim
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In a recently-filed class action complaint, captioned Suchowieski et al v. Verboten (EDNY 16-cv-01295 filed 3/15/16), plaintiffs allege that Brooklyn nightclub and their owners – Jen Schiffer and her husband, John Perez – committed various acts of wrongdoing against their employees. The complaint alleges, for example, that “[d]efendants’ female employees are subjected to persistent sexual…

Read More Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, and Wage Lawsuit Against Brooklyn Club Verboten
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In Llanos v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 132 A.D.3d 823, 824, 18 N.Y.S.3d 666, 667 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. 2015), the Second Dept. reversed a state court decision dismissing plaintiff’s claims under section 8-107 of the NYC Administrative Code (aka the NYC Human Rights Law/NYCHRL). Plaintiff alleged in her complaint that she was subjected to employment discrimination, quid…

Read More Discrimination Claims Under Comparatively Broad NYC Human Rights Law Were Not Duplicative of State Law Claims
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The Southern District of New York’s recent decision in Robinson v. Vineyard Vines, LLC, No. 15CIV4972VBJCM, 2016 WL 845283 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 4, 2016) provides an example of how the work product doctrine operates in the context of an employment discrimination/sexual harassment case. In this case, plaintiff alleged that another employee “repeatedly sexually harassed her and…

Read More Investigative Documents in Sexual Harassment Case Were Protected as Work Product
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