September 2021

by

In Zheng-Smith v. Nassau Health Care Corporation, 2021 WL 4097316 (2d Cir. Sept. 9, 2021), the court, inter alia, affirmed summary judgment in favor of defendant on plaintiff’s race and national origin based hostile work environment claim. The court summarized the applicable black-letter law as follows: Hostile work environment claims under both Title VII and…

Read More Mocking of Accent, While Evidence of “Insult or Ridicule”, Insufficient to Support Hostile Work Environment Claim
Share This:
by

In Ragin v. Riverbay Corp., 20-2233-cv, 2021 WL 4057196 (2d Cir. Sept. 7, 2021) (Summary Order), the court, inter alia, affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s sex and disability discrimination claims. As to plaintiff’s sex discrimination claim, the court explained why the proffered “legitimate non-discriminatory” reason for plaintiff’s termination was not a “pretext” for discrimination. From…

Read More Sex Discrimination Claim Properly Dismissed on Summary Judgment; HR Director’s Failure to Act Resulting in Cost to Employer, Not Gender, Was Cause of Termination
Share This:
by

In Bonterre v. City of New York et al, 18 Civ. 745, 2021 WL 4060358 (SDNY Sept. 7, 2021), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion – under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) – to dismiss plaintiff’s sexual harassment / hostile work environment claim. The court explained: In [the Second] Circuit, courts determining whether…

Read More Sexual Harassment Claim, Based on “Broomstick” Incident, Survives Dismissal
Share This:
by

In Thompson v. South Amboy Comprehensive Treatment Center, 2021 WL 3828833 (D.N.J. Aug. 27, 2021), the court, inter alia, denied defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s hostile work environment sexual harassment claim. Here, plaintiff alleges that her former supervisor (Edwin Rivera) sexually assaulted her during a weekend outing in Atlantic City, and that her…

Read More Single Incident of Alleged Sexual Assault Supports Sexual Harassment / Hostile Work Environment Claim
Share This:
by

In Erazo-Vazquez v. State Industrial Products Corp., 16-2709, 2021 WL 3910248 (D.Puerto Rico Aug. 31, 2021), the court, inter alia, dismissed plaintiff’s age-based hostile work environment claim. Initially, the court cautioned against “blurring” the distinction between hostile work environment claims, on the one hand, and discrimination and retaliation claims, on the other: Plaintiff’s allegations closely…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; Court Cautions Against “Repurposing” Discrete Acts Supporting Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
Share This:
by

In Sansone v. Jazz Casino Company, LLC D/B/A Harrah’s Casino, No. 20-30640, 2021 WL 3919249 (5th Cir. Sept. 1, 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment / sexual harassment claim. Plaintiff – a baccarat dealer – alleged, among other things, that she was harassed…

Read More Customer-Based Sexual Harassment / Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives Summary Judgment Against Harrah’s
Share This:
by

In Johnson v. Ford Motor Company, 2021 WL 3928920 (6th Cir. Sept. 2, 2021), the court reversed the lower court’s Order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claim of race-based hostile work environment/harassment under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. From the decision: [T]he district court erred in granting summary judgment to Ford on the…

Read More “Intertwined” Race/Sex Harassment Claim Survives Summary Judgment Against Ford Motor Company
Share This:
by

In Manson v. Careington International Corporation, 4:20-CV-00916, 2021 WL 3912536 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 6, 2021), the court held that plaintiff’s alleged “love/sex addiction” did not qualify as a “disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act. From the decision: Defendant avers, in reliance on the statutory text, that Plaintiff’s “love/sex addiction” cannot give rise to a…

Read More “Love/Sex Addiction” is Not an ADA “Disability”, Says Texas Federal Court?
Share This:
by

In a recent case emanating from the Northern District of Illinois, Miller v. Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., No. 20 C 414, 2021 WL 3883080 (N.D.Ill. Aug. 31, 2021), the court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claim of sexually hostile work environment. This case is instructive as to how courts evaluate the situation…

Read More Sexual Harassment Claim, Based on Photo and Vulgar Comments, Sufficiently Alleged
Share This: