In Rivas v. New York State Lottery, 2018 WL 6656390 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2018) (Summary Order), the court (inter alia) affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s retaliation claim. What makes this case arguably somewhat unique is that the alleged retaliation occurred after plaintiff left defendant’s employment. From the Order: The District Court did not err in…
Read More Post-Termination Retaliation Claim Dismissal AffirmedIn Lonergan-Milligan v. New York State Office of Mental Health, 2018 WL 6605686 (W.D.N.Y. Dec. 17, 2018), the court dismissed plaintiff’s Title VII sexual harassment (hostile work environment) claim. The law: A prima facie case of a hostile work environment involves two showings: (1) that the complained-of conduct ‘was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; Conduct Was Neither “Severe” Nor “Pervasive”Generally, the anti-discrimination laws – such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – prohibit discrimination against employees and applicants based on certain protected characteristics (as in the case of Title VII, race, color, religion, sex, and national origin). That said, there exists a (limited) exception, where such a characteristic is…
Read More The “Bona Fide Occupational Qualification” (“BFOQ”) in Employment LawOne doesn’t have to go very far into the Interwebs to find stories, often accompanied by video(s), of people behaving badly. Recent examples include a lawyer’s racist tirade at a midtown deli, and a woman’s racist outburst on a NYC subway train. If – and, let’s face it, when – their employer(s)[1]As always, unless otherwise…
Read More Can You Be Fired For Non-Work (Mis)Conduct?In Chin v. Alejandro Torres et al, 2018 WL 6435898, at *2 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 7, 2018), the court dismissed plaintiff’s sexual harassment complaint, citing the well-established principle that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is not applicable against individual defendants. As summarized by the court, plaintiff “alleges that she was employed in…
Read More Court Dismisses Title VII Sexual Harassment Complaint Against Individual DefendantsIn Snyder v. Town of Potsdam, 2018 WL 6267922 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 30, 2018), the court – summarizing (one aspect of) the law of employment discrimination – underscores an important (albeit established) point: namely, not only “minorities” are protected by the anti-discrimination laws. The court wrote: Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] prohibits all…
Read More Discrimination Laws Prohibit Discrimination Against Men Too, Court NotesFrom ALADDIN ABDAL-RAHIM, Plaintiff, v. MTA NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT, Defendant., 2018 WL 6176217, at *4 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 27, 2018): [E]ven liberally construing Rahim’s complaint, he has not pleaded facts sufficient to state a claim for discrimination. Essentially, Rahim’s only allegation is that he passed a civil service test and that the NYCTA hired candidates with…
Read More Title VII, ADEA Claims Insufficiently Pleaded Against MTA NYC TransitIn Collins v. Resource Center for Independent Living, 17-CV-0925, 2018 WL 5983377 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2018), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion to dismiss – on the pleadings, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c) – plaintiff’s Title VII race-based employment discrimination claim.[1]The court also, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s race-based hostile work environment claim. From…
Read More Race Discrimination Claim Survives Motion to Dismiss; Allegations Included Pay Raise Granted to White Employees, Denied to Black PlaintiffIn Jones v. Bloomingdale’s, 17-CV-1974, 2018 WL 6067227 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 20, 2018), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s race discrimination case based on defendant’s alleged post-employment discriminatory conduct. From the decision: Nor can Jones salvage his employment discrimination claim, under either § 1981 or Title VII, by relying on Bloomingdale’s allegedly discriminatory conduct after he…
Read More Post-Employment Conduct Did Not Amount to Unlawful Race Discrimination, Court HoldsIn a decision handed down yesterday, Collins v. Resource Center for Independent Living, 17-CV-0925, 2018 WL 5983377 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 14, 2018), the court, inter alia, granted defendant’s motion to dismiss – on the pleadings, under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c) – plaintiff’s Title VII race-based hostile work environment claim. From the decision: [T]he Court finds that…
Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed on the Pleadings; Court Cites Absence of Racially Derogatory Statements