Race / Color Discrimination

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Employment discrimination and hostile work environment claims are often difficult to prove, and frequently fail at the summary judgment stage. That is, there are many decisions in which a judge rules that there simply isn’t enough evidence to get to a jury on these issues. In that instance, the court is not taking on the…

Read More Plaintiff Gets to Jury on Race Discrimination and Hostile Work Environment Claims Against Contractor
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In Derrick v. American Intl. Group, Inc. (App. Div. 1st Dept. March 19, 2015), the Appellate Division, First Department reversed the lower court’s order granting defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint and denying plaintiff’s motion to amend her complaint. In this case, plaintiff asserts claims for race, national origin, and gender discrimination and harassment. Citing NY…

Read More Adverse Unemployment Decision Does Not Preclude Discrimination Claims, Court Holds
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A recent Southern District of New York decision, Daniel v. T&M Protection Resources LLC (SDNY 13-cv-4384, Feb. 19, 2015), illustrates that even conduct that rises to the level of what may be considered “crude” and “contemptible” may not be (and, in this case, was not) enough to survive summary judgment on a Title VII hostile…

Read More Court Explains That Even “Crude and Contemptible” Conduct May Not Rise to the Level of a Hostile Work Environment
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In Margerum v. City of Buffalo, 2015 NY Slip Op 01378 [24 NY3d 721] (N.Y. Ct. App. Feb. 17, 2015), the New York Court of Appeals held that a notice of claim need not be filed for a Human Rights Law claim against a municipality. In this case, plaintiffs – 12 white firefighters – alleged that…

Read More Discrimination Claims Under the Human Rights Law Are Not Subject to New York’s Notice of Claim Requirement, Court of Appeals Holds
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A recent Eastern District of New York decision, Jones v. City of New York, No. 14-CV-0826 CBA RLM, 2015 WL 502227 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 5, 2015), illustrates the well-established principle that an employer can fire an employee for any reason as long as the reason is non-discriminatory even if based on reasons that are unbecoming or small-minded,…

Read More Jealousy of Spruned Lover, Rather than Race or National Origin Discrimination, Was Reason for Termination
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In McCaskill v. Shoprite Supermarket (NDNY 1/30/15), the Northern District of New York granted defendant’s motion for summary judgmetn dismissing plaintiff’s race discrimination claim. Stray Remarks As part of his opposition to defendant’s motion, plaintiff contended “that his termination was motivated by racial discrimination because, inter alia, he overheard a derogatory racist remark directed towards…

Read More Court Applies “Stray Remark” Doctrine to Dismiss Race Discrimination Lawsuit Against Shop Rite
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In Johnson v. County of Nassau (EDNY Jan. 30, 2015), the Eastern District of New York explained and applied Section 296(6) of the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), which makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice “for any person to aid, abet, incite, compel or coerce the doing of any of the acts forbidden…

Read More Court Ponders Individual Liabilty for Race Discrimination Under NYS Human Rights Law
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Here is the complaint, filed in the Southern District of New York on Jan. 30, 2015 and assigned index number 15-cv-00688, alleging various claims – namely, pregnancy discrimination, gender discrimination, sexual harassment, national origin discrimination, race discrimination, and retaliation – against Mergermarket.    

Read More Lawsuit: Sexual Harassment (etc.) at “Boys Club” Mergermarket
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In Dunn v. URS Corp., 13-cv-6626 (SDNY Jan. 12, 2015), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff, an African American man, sufficiently alleged race discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff alleged that defendants failed to promote him, paid him less than what similarly situated employees received, failed…

Read More Raises Given to Others Supports Race Discrimination Claim
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