Sex / Gender Stereotyping

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In Christensen v. Omnicom Group Inc., No. 16-748, 2017 WL 1130183 (2d Cir. Mar. 27, 2017), the Second Circuit overturned a lower court decision that dismissed (under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)) the discrimination claim by plaintiff, an openly gay man, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In sum, the Second…

Read More Second Circuit Permits Gay Man’s Title VII Discrimination Case to Proceed on Gender Stereotyping Theory
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In Lorber v. Jacob Lew, No. 15-cv-9995, 2017 WL 633446 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 15, 2017) (J. Kimba M. Wood), the court dismissed (for failure to state a claim under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)) plaintiff’s gender-based hostile work environment claim, but stayed its decision on defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Title VII sexual orientation discrimination claim (which…

Read More SDNY Dismisses Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim; Stays Ruling on Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination (Stereotyping) Claim Pending Second Circuit Rulings
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On January 17, 2017, the Second Circuit heard oral argument (audio here) in the case of Christiansen v. Omnicom Group.   This is an appeal of Southern District of New York Judge Lori Failla’s Opinion and Order in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group Inc., 15-cv-3440, 167 F. Supp. 3d 598 (SDNY March 9, 2016), which dismissed plaintiff’s…

Read More Second Circuit Hears Oral Argument in Title VII Sexual Orientation Discrimination Case
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In Cargian v. Breitling USA, Inc., No. 15 CIV. 01084 (GBD), 2016 WL 5867445 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2016), U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels dismissed the complaint filed by plaintiff, a gay man, alleging claims of gender, sexual orientation, and age discrimination. (You can read about plaintiff’s lawsuit here.) Gender Discrimination/Stereotyping As to plaintiff’s Title…

Read More Distinguishing Between “Sexual Orientation Discrimination” and “Gender Stereotyping”, Court Dismisses Gay Man’s Discrimination Claim
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In Christiansen v. Omnicom Group Inc., 15-cv-3440 (SDNY March 9, 2016), the court dismissed discrimination claims brought by plaintiff, an HIV-positive openly-gay man. The court dismissed plaintiff’s disability discrimination and retaliation claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the NYS Human Rights Law. As to plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim, the court explained: Statements…

Read More Court Declines to Extend Title VII to Cover Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation
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In Baldwin v. Foxx, EEOC Appeal No. 0120133080 (July 15, 2015), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has taken the position that discrimination based on sexual orientation is discrimination based on “sex” and actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits discrimination based on, among other things, “sex,” but…

Read More EEOC: Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation is Discrimination Based on “Sex” in Violation of Title VII
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Here and below is the gender discrimination lawsuit filed on 9/23/14 by former contract partner Jodi Ritter against law firm Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP. Plaintiff alleges, for example, that she “was regularly exposed to differential treatment and a persistent hostile and abusive work environment because of her sex and the gender stereotypes perpetrated…

Read More Attorney’s Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Against Law Firm Wilson Elser
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Law firm Clifford Chance has apparently distributed a memo to female attorneys outlining presentation tips that many are blasting as a sexist throwback to the 1950’s. It suggests, for example, that female attorneys should: Avoid using “Um”, “Uh”, “You Know”, and “Like”; Not show cleavage; Ensure that “[i]f wearing a skirt, make sure audience can’t see…

Read More Prestigious Law Firm Sends Condescending and Sexist Memo to Female Attorneys
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A gender discrimination claim may lie where, for example, an employer takes an adverse action against an employee based on preconceived notions about women’s roles (so-called “gender stereotyping”). In the Eastern District’s recent decision in Apicella v. Rite Aid, the plaintiff was a pharmacist who claimed that defendant engaged in gender discrimination under Title VII, the Equal…

Read More Adverse Action Based on “Gender Stereotyping” Supports Discrimination Claim
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