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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal lawsuit on July 31, 2014 against Seapod Pawnbrokers, a Brooklyn and Queens-based business, alleging that its owner harassed workers because of their sex, race, and ethnicity, and then fired them for complaining. According to the agency’s press release, the harassment included referring to employees, most of whom were…

Read More EEOC Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Harassment, Hostile Work Environment, Race Discrimination, National Origin Discrimination, and Retaliation Against Seapod Pawnbrokers
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In Lozada v. Elmont Fire Dept., decided July 22, 2014, the New York State Division of Human Rights found that complainant, volunteer firefighter Beatrie Lozada, was subjected to a sexually hostile work environment in violation of the New York State Human Rights Law. It dismissed, however, her claims that she was subject to discrimination based on…

Read More “Badonkadonk” Sexual Harassment Results in $60,000 Award to Volunteer Firefighter
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Here is the sexual harassment lawsuit, captioned Maysa Abdel-Razeq v. Alvarez & Marsal, Inc. et al., 14-CV-5601, recently filed in the Southern District of New York against defendants Alvarez & Marsal, Inc., Paul Aversano, Anthony Caporrino, and Joel Poretsky. Plaintiff alleges that she was subjected to hostile work environment sexual harassment and race discrimination, and then…

Read More Lawsuit Alleges Hostile Work Environment Sexual Harassment, Race Discrimination, and Retaliation Against Alvarez & Marsal and Others
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Here is the complaint filed on July 30th in Bronx Supreme Court by alleged “rape cop” Kenneth Moreno against various parties, including the woman he was accused (but acquitted) of raping, the City of New York, and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance. According to a Reuters article on the suit, plaintiff “claims that city prosecutors ignored credibility…

Read More Alleged “Rape Cop” Kenneth Moreno’s $175 Million Lawsuit Against Accuser and Others
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Bullying is bad, but free speech is important. That’s the (extremely simplified) gist of People v. Marquan M., a Court of Appeals Decision dated July 1, 2014. The court, in an opinion authored by Judge Graffeo, held that an Albany Law aimed at prohibiting “cyberbullying” was unconstitutional. The facts, according to the court: [Defendant], a student…

Read More NY Court of Appeals Strikes Down Albany’s “Cyberbullying” Law
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Kirkland v. Cablevision Systems, decided by the Second Circuit on July 25, 2014, is an example of when summary judgment is inappropriate in an employment discrimination case. The court vacated the district court’s grant of summary judgment for defendant employer Cablevision Systems on pro se plaintiff Garry Kirkland’s race discrimination and retaliation claims under Title VII of…

Read More Second Circuit Vacates Summary Judgment for Employer in Race Discrimination Case
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Goonan v. Federal Reserve Bank of New York, decided July 22, 2014, illustrates an employer’s obligation to reasonably accommodate employees with known disabilities and to engage in an “interactive process” to determine what accommodation(s) are appropriate. Plaintiff, who worked for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for 25 years, suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder…

Read More 9/11-Related PTSD Disability Discrimination Case Continues
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In Lyman v. New York and Presbyterian Hospital, decided July 14, 2014, the Southern District of New York denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s disability discrimination and retaliation claims. This decision illustrates that “[b]ecause direct evidence of an employer’s discriminatory intent will rarely be found, affidavits and depositions must be carefully scrutinized for circumstantial…

Read More “Problem” Employee Presents Enough Evidence of Disability Discrimination to Survive Summary Judgment
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If you have been injured due to the negligence of a municipal entity (such as the City of New York), you will need to file a document known as a “Notice of Claim” within a fixed deadline after the accident or event in order to protect your rights. Failure to do so may result in dismissal…

Read More What is a “Notice of Claim”?
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