Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissal, on Statute of Limitations Grounds, Affirmed

In Akinde v. New York City Health & Hosps. Corp., 2019 NY Slip Op 01493 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Feb. 28, 2019), the court unanimously affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s discrimination and hostile work environment claims on statute-of-limitations grounds, and of plaintiff’s retaliation claim on the merits.

As to the former, the court explained:

Plaintiff’s claims of discrimination and hostile work environment under the State and City Human Rights Laws are based on alleged conduct that occurred more than three years before this action was commenced in April 2016 and therefore were correctly dismissed as time-barred (CPLR 214[2]; Administrative Code of City of NY § 8—502[d]). The alleged discriminatory acts are discrete acts that provide no basis for finding a continuing hostile work environment or pattern of unlawful conduct[.]

In reaching this conclusion, the court cited to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in National R.R. Passenger Corp. v Morgan, 536 US 101, 113-114 [2002].

As to plaintiff’s retaliation claim, the court held:

Plaintiff’s claim that defendant retaliated against him for engaging in protected activity, namely, filing complaints with the New York State Division of Human Rights, was correctly dismissed for failure to state a cause of action (CPLR 3211[a][7]). In support of such claim, plaintiff fails to allege facts sufficient to establish a causal connection between the protected activities and the conduct alleged to be retaliatory[.]

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