July 2015

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On June 29, 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed law number 2015/063, a Local Law to amend the NYC Administrative code in relation to prohibiting discrimination based on one’s arrest record or criminal conviction. The amendments are reflected here (website URL here). The law, also known as the “Fair Chance Act“, was effectively designed to “ban the…

Read More NYC Law Amended to “Ban the Box” Pertaining to Arrest Record or Criminal Conviction
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In Figueroa v. Johnson, 109 F. Supp. 3d 532 (EDNY 2015), the Eastern District of New York dismissed plaintiff’s “quid pro quo” sexual harassment claim due to lack of temporal proximity. The court explained: Under Title VII, a plaintiff may seek relief for sex discrimination under two theories: (1) quid pro quo or (2) hostile…

Read More Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment Claim Fails Where Too Much Time Passes Between the “Quid” and the “Quo”
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In Levin v. Mercedes-Benz Manhattan, Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 06025 (App. Div. 1 Dept. July 9, 2015), a personal injury case, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed a summary judgment for plaintiff under the doctrine of “res ipsa loquitur“. Generally, res ipsa loquitur permits a factfinder to infer negligence based upon the sheer occurrence of…

Read More Res Ipsa Loquitur Applicable; Plaintiff Granted Summary Judgment in Garage Door Fall Personal Injury Case
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In Rosas v. Alice’s Tea Cup LLC, 14-cv-8788 (SDNY July 6, 2015), the court emphasized that “the protections of the FLSA are available to citizens and undocumented workers alike”, and entered a protective order precluding defendants from seeking discovery of the plaintiffs’ immigration status, tax returns, or current employers. Plaintiffs asserted that defendants failed to pay them…

Read More Court Denies FLSA Defendants Access to Plaintiffs’ Immigration Status, Tax Returns, or Current Employers
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On June 25, 2015, the EEOC issued a revised Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues. This document supersedes the Enforcement Guidance dated July 14, 2014. The EEOC left much of the  prior guidance intact, but modified portions of it (relating to disparate treatment and light duty) in response to the Supreme Court’s decision…

Read More EEOC Issues Revised Pregnancy Discrimination Enforcement Guidance in Light of Young v. UPS
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In Guzman v. Broadway 922 Enters., LLC, decided July 2, 2015, the Appellate Division, First Department affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s snow/ice slip-and-fall case. The court considered, and rejected, defendant’s defense based on the so-called “storm in progress” rule. In addition, it provides an example of one way a…

Read More Snow/Ice Slip-and-Fall Case Continues Based on Testimony that Ice Was “Dark” and “Dirty”
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In Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures (decided July 2, 2015), the Second Circuit addressed a question of first impression in this Circuit, namely, when an unpaid intern is entitled to compensation as an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). In this case, unpaid interns working on the Fox Seachlight-distributed film Black Swan or at Fox’s…

Read More Second Circuit Clarifies When Interns are “Employees”, and Entitled to Wages, Under the FLSA
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In Hexemer v. General Electric Co. et al., 2015 WL 3948418 (NDNY June 29, 2015), the court explained the framework for proving a retaliation claim under the New York State Human Rights Law and 42 USC § 1981: [A] plaintiff must first make out a prima facie case by showing that: (1) the employee engaged in…

Read More Evidence of “Shifting and Inconsistent Explanations” For Plaintiff’s Termination Supports Retaliation Claim
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In Duckett v New York Presbyt. Hosp., 2015 NY Slip Op 05769 (App. Div. 1st Dept. July 2, 2015), the court affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion for summary judgment dismissing plaintiff’s disability discrimination claim. The court held: Issues of fact exist as to whether the hospital unlawfully terminated petitioner’s employment because of her disability. There…

Read More Disability (Mental Illness) Discrimination Claim Against Hospital Survives Dismissal
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