In Legrá v. Bd. of Educ. of the City Sch. Dist. of the City of N.Y., No. 14-CV-9245 (JGK), 2016 WL 6102369 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 19, 2016), the court dismissed plaintiff’s employment discrimination complaint – alleging employment discrimination, retaliation, and harassment – on statute of limitations and other grounds. Here’s the law: An action alleging an employer’s…
Read More Days-Late Employment Discrimination Lawsuit DismissedIn addition to being difficult to prove, employment discrimination cases are riddled with procedural minefields. One wrong step, and boom: your case is over. A recent decision, Miller v. St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hosp. Ctr. d/b/a Mount Sinai Roosevelt Hosp., No. 15-cv-7019, 2016 WL 1275066 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 1, 2016), illustrates that in the law, seemingly mundane…
Read More Checking Wrong EEOC Box Results in Dismissal of Claim as Time-BarredIn Kane v. 247 Real Media, 14-cv-2482, 2015 WL 1623832 (SDNY April 7, 2015), the court explained and applied the “administrative exhaustion” requirement of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Plaintiff – a transgender woman – alleged that she was subjected to discrimination based on her race, color, gender, and national origin.…
Read More Failure to File at EEOC Dooms Federal Transgender Discrimination ClaimsSneider v. AB Green Gansevoort, decided by the Supreme Court, New York County on January 7, 2015, addresses the pleading requirements for a claim of civil battery, as well as the effect of a criminal conviction on subsequent litigation arising out of the same facts. The facts: On February 23, 2013, the plaintiff, a patron…
Read More Standard Hotel Biergarten Brawl Lawsuit ContinuesIn Herrington v. Metro-North Commuter R.R. Co., decided June 17, 2014, the First Department affirmed the Supreme Court’s (Judge Rakower) dismissal of plaintiff’s gender discrimination, sexual orientation discrimination, and retaliation claims under the New York City Human Rights Law. First, the court held that plaintiff failed to state a claim for discrimination based on sexual…
Read More Comments Were Too Remote in Time to Support Sexual Orientation Discrimination Claim Under NYC Human Rights LawThe Appellate Division, First Department held, in Walzer v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (decided May 13, 2014), that plaintiff’s gender discrimination claims should not have been dismissed: Applying the liberal pleading standards applicable to employment discrimination claims under the State and City Human Rights Law, plaintiff has stated causes of action for violations of the Human…
Read More First Department Reinstates Gender Discrimination ClaimsOften, the facts that give rise to employment discrimination, hostile work environment, or constructive discharge claims will give rise to state law claims such as assault, battery, or intentional infliction of emotional distress. This is what happened in Castagna v. Luceno and Majestic Kitchens. There, plaintiff alleged that her boss, Bill Luceno, engaged in physically abusive…
Read More Filing EEOC Charge Does Not Toll Statute of Limitations for Related State Tort ClaimsA case recently decided by the Eastern District of New York, Smith v NYC Health and Hosp Corp., 10-cv-714 (EDNY June 18, 2013), illustrates the somewhat difficult task faced by employment discrimination plaintiffs and confirms that not all workplace adversity is actionable. In short, the law does not impose a “general civility code which prohibits all…
Read More Court Rejects Plaintiff’s Hostile Work Environment and Retaliation ClaimsEmployment cases are often difficult to prove, and even the best-intentioned litigants with objectively reasonable factual and legal support for their claim(s) sometimes lose. It happens. Case outcomes are very difficult to predict, due to a variety of factors. A Memorandum and Order issued by Southern District Judge J. Paul Oetken last week in Tucker…
Read More Federal Judge Slams Lawyer For Making Baseless Allegations In Employment Case