Second Dept. Case Explains One Way to Prove Pretext in Employment Discrimination Cases

In Browne v. Board of Education, the Appellate Division, Second Dept. affirmed the lower court’s denial of defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim for gender discrimination under the New York State Human Rights Law, N.Y. Executive Law § 296.

In a terse decision and order devoid of factual elaboration, the court held:

In opposition to the defendants’ prima facie showing that there was a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for charging the plaintiff with misconduct, the plaintiff’s submissions raised a triable issue of fact as to whether this reason was false, misleading, or incomplete, and thus, a pretext for discrimination.

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