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Lindy Korn

Jul 19, 2019

Workplace Issues: Second Circuit concludes Trump blocking Twitter dissenters violates First Amendment

President Donald J. Trump appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, concluding that he engaged in unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination by using Twitters “blocking” function to limit certain user’s access to his social media account which is otherwise open to the public at large, because he […]

Jun 26, 2019

Workplace Issues: Lawsuit accuses faculty members of ‘egregious sexual misconduct’

Two ex-John Jay College of Criminal Justice students have filed a New York Federal suit accusing four faculty members of egregious sexual misconduct and the school of conducting only a “sham” investigation into their complaints. (1:19-cv-05428, SDNY). The students said the environment they experienced at the school amounted to a “cesspool of sexism, misogyny, sexual […]

May 24, 2019

Workplace Issues: Second Circuit reverses on definition of retaliation

The Second Circuit has held that the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s retaliation claim on summary judgment should be reversed since the district court employed an incorrect definition of materially adverse action. The circuit court refers to the SCOTUS decision in Burlington Northern v White, issued in 2006, stating that the definition of retaliation is […]

Apr 22, 2019

Workplace Issues: Second Circuit reverses summary judgment and allows plaintiff a jury trial on claim of national origin

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated an employment discrimination case, concluding that the jury may find the plaintiff was terminated from his position because of his national origin, which is Egyptian. The key evidence in this case is that the plaintiff claimed to overhear the decision maker tell someone that she “knew how […]

Mar 22, 2019

Workplace Issues: #METOO — avoidance in the workplace isolates women

Some male executives are reacting to the spotlight placed on sexual misconduct in the workplace by trying to avoid interacting with female co-workers, both peers and subordinates. Last year a survey conducted by Working Mother Research Institute and the ABA Journal found that 56 percent of men believed that a heightened perception of improper behavior […]

Feb 22, 2019

Workplace Issues: NYC discrimination guidance focuses on hairstyles & race

New York City’s Commission on Human Rights is putting employers on notice that banning or restricting hairstyles that are associated with black people is a form of racial discrimination. The Commission protects New Yorkers’ rights to wear their natural hair or hairstyles closely linked to their racial, ethnic or cultural identities, which for black people […]

Dec 21, 2018

Workplace Issues: 2nd Circuit holds that abuse of a restricted database by a sergeant is not retaliation

The Court of Appeals has held that a corrections officer who exposed a sergeant’s abuse of a restricted police database to spy on his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend can be retaliated against for his speech act because the law was not clearly established that this kind of whistleblowing is protected under the First Amendment (Gorman v. […]

Nov 26, 2018

Workplace Issues: Federal judiciary tackles workplace harassment

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has created the new position of director of workplace relations to confront workplace harassment issues in the appellate, trial and bankruptcy courts within the Circuit’s jurisdiction. This was in the wake of Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski’s sudden resignation after a report unearthed allegations of sexual harassment […]

Oct 19, 2018

Workplace Issues: Under-paid, under-promoted and subjected to sexual harassment: EEOC charge

Could this still be happening? Sexual harassment rarely exists by itself; rather, it is an intersectional claim of discrimination, meaning that pay equity claims and other types of unlawful discrimination usually are part of a larger scope of actionable events. This charge is no exception. Ernst & Young is being charged in an EEOC complaint […]

Sep 21, 2018

Workplace Issues: Teenage workers have heightened need for protection

Teenagers who begin their first jobs are eager to please their supervisors and are thrilled to receive a paycheck! Often, they do not read what they sign — by way of a handbook. Recently the EEOC has sued Del Taco, LLC in California Federal Court, claiming that the fast-food chain discriminated against a putative class […]

Aug 27, 2018

Workplace Issues: Claims of hostile work environment: When does the Continuing Violations Doctrine apply?

The hostile work environment theory under Title VII and State Human Rights Law requires a showing of severe or pervasive acts. The harassment often extends over several years and statutes of limitation capture the most recent acts of discrimination. The key inquiry is: When can a plaintiff invoke the Continuing Violation Doctrine? A recent Second […]

Jul 20, 2018

Workplace Issues: Professional athletes who are pregnant get punished for having a baby!

Last month Serena Williams played in her first major tournament since giving birth to her daughter. She had to enter the French Open unseeded, as her protected No. 1 ranking from the Women’s Tennis Association did not apply to the Tournaments seeding (Today’s Workplace, July 6th, 2018, Lindsay Gibbs, author). The public outcry deemed that […]

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