Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

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In Glenn v. Fuji Grill Niagara Falls, LLC, No. 14-CV-380S, 2016 WL 1557751 (W.D.N.Y. Apr. 18, 2016), the court discussed whether and to what extent a party who has accepted an “Offer of Judgment” in a Title VII discrimination suit may thereafter seek costs, including attorney fees. The answer, unsurprisingly, turns on the terms of…

Read More Accepted Offer of Judgment Did Not Foreclose Attorney Fees in Discrimination/Hostile Work Environment Case
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In a recently-filed Manhattan federal lawsuit, captioned Kantrowitz v. Procter & Gamble, SDNY 16cv02813, plaintiff alleges, among other things: [Plaintiff], a [Procter & Gamble] employee of two years in good standing who sold products geared to women at P&G’s Dolce and Gabbana [] makeup shop at Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, was fired after she announced…

Read More Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Against Procter & Gamble
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In a lawsuit filed this week, captioned Villalta v. JS Barkats PLLC and Sunny Barkats, 16-cv-2772 (SDNY filed April 13, 2016), plaintiff asserts claims of gender discrimination and quid pro quo and hostile work environment sexual harassment against a Manhattan law firm and its owner. Plaintiff alleges, among other things: Defendant [Sunny] Barkats exploited Plaintiff, who…

Read More Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Manhattan Law Firm JS Barkats PLLC
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In Picarella v. HSBC Securities, 14-cv-4463 (Order filed April 5, 2016), Southern District of New York Judge Andrew Carter denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiffs’ retaliation claims. Plaintiffs Michael Picarella and James Rist asserted that HSBC retaliated against them after they reported the sexual harassment of a coworker. I previously wrote about this case…

Read More Retaliation Claims Against HSBC for Reporting Coworker Sexual Harassment Survive Summary Judgment
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The Southern District of New York’s recent decision in Hiralall v. Sentosacare, LLC, No. 13 CIV. 4437 (GBD), 2016 WL 1126530 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 18, 2016) demonstrates that nepotism – defined here as “favouritism shown to relatives or close friends by those with power or influence” – does not, at least in this case, rise to the…

Read More Nepotism Insufficient to Establish Race/National Origin Discrimination
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In Cappelli v. Jack Resnick & Sons, Inc, No. 1:13-CV-3481-GHW, 2016 WL 958642 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 8, 2016), the court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s employment discrimination and retaliation claims. Plaintiff, a male building superintendent, complained about the following conduct at work: I have been the victim of sexual harassment that has been performed…

Read More Merely Witnessing Sexual Conduct Held Insufficient to Establish a Sex-Based Hostile Work Environment Claim
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United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died on February 13, 2016. Many disagreed with the outspoken justice’s politics; some were happy to see him go. Many compilations of his opinions/dissents (such as this one or this one) appear to highlight his conservative ideology. Unsurprisingly missing from many such compilations is his opinion in Oncale v. Sundowner…

Read More Justice Scalia: Civil Rights Champion?
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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 Lai v. Deiorio Foods Inc., 2016 WL 814930 (NDNY Feb. 29, 2016), the court held that the (pro se) plaintiff plausibly alleged claims of employment discrimination and retaliation. Plaintiff, a Vietnam-born naturalized U.S. citizen, alleged that her Bosnian supervisor “discriminated [against], harassed, intimidated, and threatened her on a regular basis” and that she was constructively…

Read More Vietnamese Plaintiff Plausibly Alleges Employment Discrimination by Citing Examples of Bosnian Favoritism
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In Kennedy v. NYS, 14-CV-990S, NYLJ 1202751641711 (WDNY Mar. 3, 2016), the Western District of New York held that plaintiff – a member of NYS Assembly Member Dennis Gabryszak’s staff – plausibly alleged hostile work environment sexual harassment against Mr. Gabryszak under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and therefore denied defendants’ motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ.…

Read More Assembly Staff Member Sufficiently Alleges § 1983 Sexual Harassment Claim Against Dennis Gabryszak
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