Adverse Employment Action

In Guerra v. Murphy, No. 15-cv-1168, 2016 WL 7480405 (N.D.N.Y. Dec. 29, 2016), the court granted defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s disparate-treatment employment discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as he failed to plausibly allege the existence of an “adverse employment action.” The court also dismissed plaintiff’s hostile work…

Read More Absence of “Adverse Employment Action” Results in Dismissal of Title VII Disparate-Treatment Employment Discrimination Claims
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In Bell v. McRoberts Protective Agency, Inc., No. 15-CV-0963 (JPO), 2016 WL 7192083 (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 12, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s federal, state, and city claims of religious, race, and sex discrimination under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (This decision, which follows a prior dismissal of plaintiff’s claims, focuses on plaintiff’s amended complaint.) Initially,…

Read More Religious, Race, Sex Discrimination Claims Dismissed on Non-Exhaustion and Substantive Grounds
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In Dollinger v. N.Y. State Ins. Fund, No. 314CV908MADDEP, 2016 WL 6833993 (N.D.N.Y. Nov. 18, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s disability discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation claims. Plaintiff alleged, inter alia, “that he has been subjected to such treatment because he is ‘regarded as belonging to a group associated with high risk for HIV/AIDS;…

Read More Disability Discrimination Lawsuit Dismissed on the Pleadings; “Gay Terrorist” Email Among Allegations Failing to Meet “Plausibility” Pleading Standard
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Not every action taken by an employer against an employee is actionable under the anti-discrimination laws, even if the action is tied to a so-called protected characteristic. The dividing line between actionable and non-actionable conduct – for claims of retaliation or status-based discrimination – is the presence, or absence, of an “adverse employment action.” As…

Read More What is an “Adverse Employment Action”?
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A recent decision, Frazier v. City of New York Dep’t of Correction, No. 14-CV-1224 (KAM)(PK), 2016 WL 4444775 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 23, 2016), addressed whether certain alleged actions were “adverse employment actions” sufficient to support a proposed complaint amendment to add a claim of retaliation. Initially, the court addressed the procedural issue of whether plaintiff should be…

Read More Court Rejects Motion to Amend Complaint to Add Retaliation Claim; Informal Reprimands Were Not “Adverse Employment Actions”
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In Koss v. Strippit, Inc., No. 12-CV-486, 2016 WL 3963204 (W.D.N.Y. July 22, 2016), the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York upheld the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation that defendant’s motion for summary judgment be granted and that plaintiff’s gender and disability discrimination claims be dismissed. This decision is instructive on how…

Read More Gender & Disability Discrimination Claims Dismissed; Denial of Training Was Not “Adverse Action” and Reduction-in-Force Termination Was Not Pretext
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In Carter v. Syracuse City School District, No. 15-2395, 2016 WL 3671631 (2d Cir. July 11, 2016) (Summary Order), an employment discrimination case, the Second Circuit vacated the district court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s discrimination and retaliation claims. Initially, the court held that the District Court incorrectly dismissed plaintiff’s State Human Rights Law claim because plaintiff…

Read More Second Circuit Revives Discrimination Claims Against School District; Discusses Title VII Pleading Standards for Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
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In Capek v. BNY Mellon, N.A., No. 15-cv-4155, 2016 WL 2993211 (S.D.N.Y. May 23, 2016) the court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s race and religious discrimination claims. Plaintiff alleged in her federal court complaint, e.g., that “[i]n the mistaken belief that [she] is Jewish, she was required by her managers to cultivate clients in…

Read More Work Assignments Based on Perceived Jewish Faith Supports Race/Religious Discrimination Claims, Court Holds
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In Dziedzic v. State Univ. of New York at Oswego, No. 15-11, 2016 WL 2620305 (2d Cir. May 9, 2016), the court affirmed the dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim as time-barred. Specifically, plaintiff’s “claims arising out of unlawful employment acts that occurred from 2005 until she took her first medical leave on January…

Read More Continuing Violation Doctrine Held Inapplicable Where Incidents Were Not “Sufficiently Related”
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In Gomez v. Stonybrook Univ., 14-cv-7219, 2016 WL 1039539 (E.D.N.Y. Jan. 28, 2016), report and recommendation adopted, 2016 WL 1045536 (E.D.N.Y. Mar. 15, 2016), the court held that plaintiff did not suffer an “adverse employment action” and hence dismissed her discrimination claim. (The below text is taken from the Magistrate’s Report and Recommendation.) This case…

Read More Denial of Transfer Did Not Amount to an “Adverse Employment Action”
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