Second Circuit – Discrimination: Carr v. NYC Transit Authority

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Discrimination

Carr v. NYC Transit Authority

22-792-cv

Judges Pooler, Parker, and Nathan

Background: The plaintiff appeals from the dismissal of her claims of age, race, and gender discrimination and retaliation. She argues that the court applied an incorrect legal standard to her retaliation claims and that she failed to demonstrate that the defendants’ race neutral explanations for not selecting her for two internal promotions were pretextual.

Ruling: The Second Circuit affirmed. The court held that although the court applied the incorrect standard to her retaliatory hostile work environment claim, she failed to make out a prima facie case of retaliation. The court noted that the defendant demonstrated that two employees who received the promotions were more qualified than the plaintiff and there was no evidence that any impermissible promotion criteria were used. The allegations of minor variations in the hiring process and the emphasis on the candidates’ technical backgrounds were not a departure from procedural regularity that would allow a jury to infer pretext.

Gregory G. Smith for the plaintiff-appellant; Mariel A. Thompson, of the NYC Transit Authority, for the defendants-appellees.