In Rogers v. Fashion Inst. of Tech. et al, No. 14-CV-6420 (AJN), 2017 WL 1078572 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 21, 2017), the court granted in part and denied in part defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s (an African American part-time adjunct professor in FIT’s production management department) claims of race discrimination. (This decision follows a prior dismissal and…
Read More FIT Professor’s Race Discrimination Claims Proceed in PartIn Bright-Asante v. Saks & Co., Inc., No. 15 CIV. 5876 (ER), 2017 WL 977587 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 9, 2017) – an employment discrimination case arising from the suspension of an African American sales associate upon suspicion of theft – the court held, inter alia, that: (1) plaintiff’s statutory discrimination claims were not subject to mandatory…
Read More Arbitration of Statutory Discrimination Claims Not Compelled; Constructive Discharge Claim Stated Against Saks; Retaliation and Race Discrimination Claims DismissedIn Carris v. First Student, Inc., 15-3350 (2d Cir. March 8, 2017) (summary order), the Second Circuit vacated the dismissal of plaintiff’s Title VII race discrimination claim. The law: To survive a motion to dismiss, a Title VII plaintiff does not have to plead a full prima facie case pursuant to the first stage of…
Read More 2d Circuit Vacates Title VII Race Discrimination Claim DismissalIn United States v. N.Y. City Dep’t of Educ., No. 16-cv-4291, 2017 WL 435940 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 31, 2017), an employment (race) discrimination case asserted by New York City teachers, the court recommended that defendants’ motion to dismiss be granted and denied in part. The plaintiff-teachers alleged that the principal of Pan American International High School (PAIHS),…
Read More Court Cites and Applies the Doctrine of “Constructive Involuntary Transfer” in Teachers’ Race Discrimination Case Against the New York City Department of EducationIn Underwood v. Roswell Park Cancer Inst., No. 15-CV-684-FPG, 2017 WL 131740 (W.D.N.Y. Jan. 13, 2017), the court held that the plaintiff – an African American surgeon – plausibly alleged that he was subjected to a racially hostile work environment. “To state a claim for a racially hostile work environment, a plaintiff must plead facts…
Read More African American Surgeon Plausibly Alleges a Racially Hostile Work EnvironmentHere is the recently-filed lawsuit, captioned Springs v. City of New York et al (SDNY 17-cv-00451), in which a black firefighter alleges that he endured sexual hazing and race discrimination. Among other things, plaintiff alleges that one defendant told him “I don’t like you … blacks getting on the job this way. You don’t have good…
Read More Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Hazing and Race Discrimination at NY Fire Dept.Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday that marks the birthday of the civil rights leader, who was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Dr. King was present when President Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a federal law that prohibits discrimination in (e.g.) employment (Title VII) and public…
Read More Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.In Guerra v. Murphy, No. 15-cv-1168, 2016 WL 7480405 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 29, 2016), the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s disparate-treatment employment discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as he failed to plausibly allege the existence of an “adverse employment action.” The court also dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work…
Read More Absence of “Adverse Employment Action” Results in Dismissal of Title VII Disparate-Treatment Employment Discrimination Claims
Snow-covered stairs at 8 Street subway entrance
As 2016 draws to a close, I’d like to take a brief moment to reflect on the past year. Cases We have continued to fight on behalf of our clients in employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and personal injury matters. Cases we have handled this year include: Sexual harassment ($500,000 settlement) Disability discrimination and retaliation ($30,000…
Read More Pospis Law Year in Review: 2016In Nadesan v. Citizens Fin. Grp., No. 16-942-CV, 2016 WL 7177496 (2d Cir. Dec. 8, 2016) (Summary Order; Judges Livingston, Chin, Carney), the court clarified the scope of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, a federal statute that prohibits certain forms of discrimination. Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 provides, in pertinent part: All persons…
Read More 2d Circuit Clarifies Scope of Race Discrimination Statute, 42 U.S.C. § 1981