Hostile Work Environment

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In Bacchus v. New York City Dep’t of Educ., No. 12 CV 1663 PKC, 2015 WL 5774550 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2015), the court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s (a black woman of Guyanese national origin) claims of employment discrimination and hostile work environment. This case provides a helpful analysis of whether alleged…

Read More Race, National Origin Discrimination Claims Survive Summary Judgment; Alleged Discriminatory Comments Were Not “Stray Remarks”
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The Northern District of New York’s recent decision of Saile v. New York Dep’t of Motor Vehicles, No. 5:13-CV-1394 ATB, 2015 WL 6962688 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 9, 2015) reminds us that a plaintiff alleging a sex-based hostile work environment must do more than merely allege that they were made “uncomfortable” by sexual comments – here, alleged…

Read More Alleged Lewd Comments About DMV Customers, Bowling Buttocks Text, Etc. Insufficient to Establish Hostile Work Environment
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In a recent Manhattan federal lawsuit, captioned Jose Alcantara v. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and Kellie Marsalli, SDNY 15-cv-08770 (filed 11/6/15), plaintiff (a Muslim cancer survivor) alleges that he was subjected to a hostile work environment, retaliated against, denied a raise and promotion, and terminated based upon his religion. Plaintiff alleges, among other things, that defendant(s)…

Read More Muslim’s Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against Bed Bath & Beyond
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A recent New York Supreme Court case, Spellman v. Gucci Am. Inc., 2015 NY Slip Op 31728(U) (Sup. Ct. NY Cty. Sept. 11, 2015), illustrates that “hostility” disconnected from the plaintiff’s protected class is insufficient to state a cause of action, even under the relatively broad NYC Human Rights Law. The court dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim…

Read More Alleged Threats of Death and Termination Insufficient to Allege a Cause of Action for a Hostile Work Environment Under the NYC Human Rights Law
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In a recent lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court (captioned Harwell v. Consolidated Edison Co. of NY, 15-cv-08511 (SDNY filed 10/28/15), plaintiff (an African American woman) asserts, among other things, that she was subjected to race discrimination, gender discrimination, and a hostile work environment by her employer, Con Ed.

Read More Race/Gender Discrimination, Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Con Edison
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File this one under “What were they thinking?!?”. When the facts of an employment discrimination case include the terms “Hitler video” and “mandatory conference”, it isn’t difficult to predict how the case is going to turn out. In Orlando v. BNP Paribas N. Am., Inc., No. 14 CIV. 4102 AJP, 2015 WL 6387531 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 22,…

Read More Hitler/Nazi “Training Video” Supports Hostile Work Environment Claims Under New York State and City Human Rights Laws
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In Minckler v. UPS, 2015 WL 6510537 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dept. Oct. 29, 2015), an upstate appellate court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s sexual harassment/hostile work environment and retaliation claims against her former employer UPS, but held that her claim for assault and battery could continue against a co-worker. The Facts Plaintiff, a UPS administrative…

Read More “Uncivil and Crude” Comments Did Not Amount to Sexual Harassment/Hostile Work Environment at UPS
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In Husser v. New York City Dep’t of Educ., No. 12-CV-6095 MKB JO, 2015 WL 5774741 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 30, 2015), plaintiff alleged that defendants willfully failed to pay her wages equal to those paid to men for equal work, retaliated against her, and subjected her to a hostile work environment. The court adopted the Magistrate Judge’s Report…

Read More Gender Pay Discrimination and Retaliation, But Not Hostile Work Environment, Claims Survive Summary Judgment
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In Irons v. Bedford-Stuyvesant Cmty. Legal Servs., No. 13-CV-4467 MKB, 2015 WL 5692860 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 28, 2015), the court dismissed a male plaintiff’s claims of sexual harassment/hostile work environment, gender discrimination, and retaliation. Here I’ll discuss one aspect of the case – namely, the court’s decision to grant defendants summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims of…

Read More Court Dismisses Male Employee’s Sex Discrimination Claims
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In Parker v. Workmen’s Circle Ctr. of the Bronx, Inc., No. 14CV5327-LTS, 2015 WL 5710511 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 29, 2015), the Southern District of New York held that plaintiff sufficiently alleged her gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and hostile work environment claims. The Facts The court summarized plaintiff’s allegations, as set forth in her federal complaint, as…

Read More Retaliation, Hostile Work Environment, Gender Discrimination Claims Sufficiently Alleged Against Workmen’s Circle Center of the Bronx
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