Individual Liability for Discrimination

In Bautista v. Chanel, Inc., 20 Civ. 4676, 2022 WL 374496 (SDNY Feb. 8, 2022), the court, inter alia, denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims of race and national origin discrimination asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New York City Human Rights Law. The court…

Read More Race, National Origin Discrimination Claims Against Chanel Survive Summary Judgment; Evidence Included Derogatory Comments About Speaking Spanish
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In Omyla v. Smiletech, Inc., No. 517483/2021, 2022 WL 524944 (N.Y. Sup Ct, Kings County Feb. 14, 2022), the court, inter alia, denied the individual defendant’s (Ifraim Agababayev) motion to dismiss discrimination and harassment claims asserted under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. In this case, plaintiff (a dental technician) asserts causes…

Read More Discrimination, Sexual Harassment Claims Sufficiently Alleged Against Individual Defendant, Court Holds
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In Xu v. Omnicom Group Inc., No. 518453/2019, 2022 WL 135325, 2022 N.Y. Slip Op. 30133(U) (N.Y. Sup Ct, Kings County Jan. 06, 2022), the court granted an individual defendant’s (John Wren) motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claims of discrimination based on race (Chinese), national origin (China), disability, and age. This case is instructive as to…

Read More Discrimination Claims Dismissed Against, and Protective Order Issued Barring Deposition of, Individual Defendant
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In Bonaffini v. City University of New York and Anne Lopes, 2021 WL 2895688 (E.D.N.Y. July 9, 2021), the court addressed an interesting issue, namely: whether an individual defendant may be liable for discrimination under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws, notwithstanding that their government employer is entitled to sovereign immunity. The…

Read More NYS and NYC Human Rights Law Discrimination Claims May Proceed Against Individual Provost, Notwithstanding CUNY’s Sovereign Immunity
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On January 7, 2020, the New York Court of Appeals – which, for those unfamiliar with New York’s court system, is our highest court – heard (remote) oral argument in the case captioned Doe v. Bloomberg, L.P. et al. In this case, plaintiff alleges, among other things, that while employed as a temporary employee for Bloomberg…

Read More NY Court of Appeals Hears Oral Argument in Case as to Individual Liability (Here, of Michael Bloomberg) Under the NYC Human Rights Law
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In Geffner v. Quanta Services, Inc., 2018 WL 6807388 (S.D.N.Y. 2018), the court, inter alia, found that plaintiff failed to state claim(s) of employment discrimination – based, e.g., on his religion – against his supervisor (Austin). The decision is instructive as to how and when individual liability for employment discrimination may be imposed under 42…

Read More Employment Discrimination Claims Not Stated Against Individual Supervisor, SDNY Holds
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In Maines et al v. Last Chance Funding, Inc. d/b/a The LCF Group et al, 2018 WL 4558408 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 25, 2018), the court clarified the standard for imposing liability on individual defendants under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL), N.Y. Executive Law § 290 et seq. The statute, explained the court, provides for…

Read More Court Explains Standard for Individual Liability for a Hostile Work Environment Under the New York State Human Rights Law
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In Amaya v. Ballyshear LLC et al, 17-cv-1596, 2018 WL 1319003 (EDNY March 14, 2018), the court held, inter alia, that plaintiff (an Ecuadorian woman amd member of the Hispanic race) sufficiently alleged a race-based hostile work environment claim based on anti-Hispanic epithets. The court explained: [T]o survive a motion to dismiss, “a plaintiff need…

Read More Hostile Work Environment Claim Stated Under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 Based on Racial Epithets
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In Fatcheric v. Bartech Grp., Inc., No. 15CV9702, 2017 WL 3084418 (S.D.N.Y. July 19, 2017), the court denied defendants’ motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s claims of unlawful termination based on her disability, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law.…

Read More Disability Discrimination Claims Survive Summary Judgment, in Light of Dispute as to Whether Working On-Site Was an “Essential Function” of Plaintiff’s Job
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In Ananiadis v. Mediterranean Gyros Prods., Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 05058 (N.Y. App. Div. 2d Dept. June 21, 2017), the court held that the lower court erred by dismissing plaintiffs’ aiding-and-abetting sexual harassment, and retaliation, claims under the New York State and City Human Rights Laws. The court summarized the plaintiffs’ allegations: The plaintiffs…

Read More NY Appellate Court Reinstates Sexual Harassment Claims; Explains Imposition of Individual Liability Under the State and City Human Rights Laws
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