Employment Discrimination

In Butterfield-Bajinan v. City of New York, 2017 WL 4045175 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 11, 2017), the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s Title VII race discrimination claim as insufficiently alleged. The court explained what a plaintiff asserting such a claim must allege: To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint alleging employment discrimination under Title…

Read More Title VII Race Discrimination Claim Dismissed; Court Cites Lack of Alleged Racial Comments or Favorable Treatment of “Similarly Situated” Caucasian Employees
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In Yang Zhao v. Keuka College, 2017 WL 3917145 (W.D.N.Y., 2017), plaintiff – a U.S. Citizen of Chinese origin – alleges that she was denied tenure because of her ethnicity, race, and national origin. The court granted plaintiff’s motion to amend her complaint to add a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, finding that plaintiff…

Read More Chinese Professor Plausibly Alleges Intentional Discrimination Under 42 U.S.C. 1981; May Amend Complaint
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In Mehulic v. New York Downtown Hosp., 2017 NY Slip Op 06416 (App. Div. 1st Dept. Sept. 12, 2017), the court reversed the trial court’s Order granting defendant summary judgment on plaintiff’s retaliation claim under Labor Law § 741 on the ground of collateral estoppel. From the decision: However, the motion court erred in finding that plaintiff’s…

Read More Whistleblower (NY Labor Law § 741) Retaliation Claim Survives Summary Judgment; OPMC Rulings Did Not Operate as Collateral Estoppel
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In Percy v. The State of New York (Hudson Valley DDSO), Local 412 of the CSEA, Inc., Local 1000, AFSCME AFL-CIO, Basil Townsend, 264 F.Supp.3d 574, 585 (S.D.N.Y. 2017), the court explained: Courts are split on the question of whether rejecting unwanted sexual advances constitutes protected activity. See Little, 210 F. Supp. 2d at 385-86…

Read More Rejecting a Supervisor’s Sexual Advances is “Protected Activity” For Purposes of a Retaliation Claim, Court Holds
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In Seck v. Information Management Network, 2017 WL 3879683 (2d Cir. Sept. 6, 2017) (Summary Order), the court reiterated the rule that “[a] cause of action for employment discrimination accrues from the moment of the discrete act constituting an unlawful employment practice, not from when the discriminatory motive is discovered.” Applying the law, the court held:…

Read More 2d Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Employment Discrimination Claims as Untimely; Rejects “Motive Discovery” Rule
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From McClarence v. International Union of Operating Engineers Local Union, 2017 WL 3887883, at *2 (E.D.N.Y., 2017): In this case, McClarence’s complaint fails to state a claim under Title VII. McClarence has asserted a bare-bones claim that he was discriminated against on the basis of race or color, but has not identified himself as a…

Read More Complaint Fails to State Title VII, ADA Claim Based on (Unspecified) Race, Criminal Conviction, or Drug Test
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From James v. NYC Health & Hospitals Corp. et al, 2017 WL 3923675 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 6, 2017): Defendants argue that Waiters’s alleged conduct was not sufficiently severe or pervasive as a matter of law. See Def. Br. at 12 (claiming conduct “lacks any semblance of concreteness, vulgarity or even obscenity”). That evidence, however, is sufficient…

Read More Sexual Harassment Hostile Work Environment Claim Survives Summary Judgment Against NYC Health & Hospitals Corp.
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In Carrington v. Mota & City of New York, 2017 WL 3835883 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 31, 2017),[1]I wrote about the court’s evaluation of plaintiff’s “disparate treatment” race discrimination claim here. the court recommended the dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim. From the decision: Carrington’s factual allegations do not create a plausible inference that she has…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Dismissed; “Nasty Tone” Was Not “Severe”, and Alleged Hostility Was Disconnected From Employee’s Race
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In Kpaka v. City University of New York, 2017 WL 3866642 (2d Cir. 16-3527 Sept. 5, 2017) (Summary Order), the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s race discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court explained the standards applicable to evaluating the sufficiency of a discrimination claim: To…

Read More Second Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Race Discrimination Claims as Time-Barred and Based on Different Treatment of a Non-Similarly-Situated White Employee
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In Carrington v. Mota & City of New York, 2017 WL 3835883 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 31, 2017), the court recommended the dismissal of plaintiff’s race discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (but gave her an opportunity to amend her complaint). As to plaintiff’s race discrimination…

Read More Court Dismisses Race Discrimination Claim; Adverse Action, Inference of Discrimination Insufficiently Alleged
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