In Nunez v. New York State Dep’t of Corr. & Cmty. Supervision, No. 14-CV-6647 JMF, 2015 WL 4605684 (S.D.N.Y. July 31, 2015), the court held that plaintiff – a parole officer – plausibly alleged sexual harassment under the New York City Human Rights Law, but not the New York State Human Rights Law. Plaintiff alleged that…
Read More Parole Officer Sufficiently Alleges Sexual Harassment Under NYC Human Rights LawIn Schwarz v. Consolidated Edison, Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 25258 (Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Aug. 3, 2015), the court dismissed the discrimination complaint brought by Charles Schwartz against Con Edison under CPLR 3211(a)(7) for failure to state a claim. Mr. Schwartz – one of the police officers involved with the Abner Louima case (and who…
Read More Court Dismisses Abner Louima Officer’s Conviction Discrimination Complaint Against ConEdHere is the recently-filed lawsuit, captioned Kieara Gaskin and Tenia Stuckey v. BK Venture Group LTD d/b/a Jaguars 3 and Starlets NYC, 15-cv-04190 (EDNY filed July 16, 2015), in which the plaintiffs allege that they were not paid properly under federal and state wage laws, and subjected to discrimination and a hostile work environment based…
Read More Entertainers’ FLSA, Race/Sex Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit Against Strip ClubIn Hexemer v. General Electric Co. et al., 2015 WL 3948418 (NDNY June 29, 2015), the court explained the framework for proving a retaliation claim under the New York State Human Rights Law and 42 USC § 1981: [A] plaintiff must first make out a prima facie case by showing that: (1) the employee engaged in…
Read More Evidence of “Shifting and Inconsistent Explanations” For Plaintiff’s Termination Supports Retaliation ClaimHere is the sexual harassment / hostile work environment federal court lawsuit, captioned Castelgrande v. Elie Tahari, Ltd. and Elie Tahari, SDNY 15-cv-04564, filed on June 16, 2015. Plaintiff alleges that the defendant(s) fired her two hours after she complained about sexual harassment, namely, Mr. Tahari’s attempt, while plaintiff was standing in a room with workers,…
Read More Sexual Harassment / Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit Against Elie TahariA recent state appellate decision, Cohen v. State of New York (App. Div. 2nd Dept. June 17, 2015), explains an employer’s duties regarding a requested accommodation for a disability under the New York State Human Rights Law. In Cohen, the Appellate Division, Second Department reversed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to defendant on plaintiff’s…
Read More Rejection of Accommodation Request Results in Reversal of Summary Judgment for Defendant in Disability Discrimination CaseIn 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 ProceedThe 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 ContinuesIn the disturbing case of Lent v. CCNH, Inc. d/b/a Cortland Care Center, 2015 WL 3463433 (NDNY June 1, 2015), the court held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged (hostile work environment) sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York State Human Rights Law. Plaintiff alleged that her co-worker “cornered…
Read More Allegations of Rape by Co-Worker Sufficiently Allege Hostile Work Environment Sexual HarassmentBelow is the complaint, captioned Kology v. MySpace NYC et al., 15-cv-3061 and filed May 27, 2015 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, alleging sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and retaliation against real estate company MySpace NYC. Plaintiff alleges, among other things, that defendants fired her because she refused the company’s owner’s…
Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against MySpace NYC