DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION CAUSES ACTION, AS WELL AS A FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT CAUSE OF ACTION, SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED.
The Second Department, modifying Supreme Court determined the discrimination and retaliation causes of action under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) should not have been dismissed. In addition, the court determined the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) cause of action should not have been dismissed on the ground the defendant companies had less than 50 employees because there was question of fact whether single or joint employer doctrine should apply:
Here, the defendants established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the first and second causes of action insofar as they alleged discrimination and retaliation in violation of the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL, and the third cause of action pursuant to the NYSHRL and the NYCHRL, by proffering, among other things, a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the plaintiff’s termination. The defendants cited, among other things, the plaintiff’s disciplinary record, which included numerous infractions. The plaintiff, however, raised triable issues of fact, inter alia, on the issue of pretext, by referring to his good disciplinary record for the first three years of his employment, followed by frequent citations for disciplinary issues which commenced only after he allegedly began complaining of discriminatory treatment on the basis of association, ancestry, and religion. Under these circumstances, the Supreme Court erred in determining that the plaintiff failed to raise triable issues of fact regarding so much of his first through third causes of action as alleged discrimination and retaliation in violation of the NYSHRL and NYCHRL. Macchio v Michaels Elec. Supply Corp., 2017 NY Slip Op 02636, 2nd Dept 4-5-17
EMPLOYMENT LAW (DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION CAUSES ACTION, AS WELL AS A FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT CAUSE OF ACTION, SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED)/HUMAN RIGHTS LAW (EMPLOYMENT LAW, DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION CAUSES ACTION, AS WELL AS A FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT CAUSE OF ACTION, SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED)/DISCRIMINATION (EMPLOYMENT LAW, DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION CAUSES ACTION, AS WELL AS A FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT CAUSE OF ACTION, SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED)/FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (EMPLOYMENT LAW, DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION CAUSES ACTION, AS WELL AS A FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT CAUSE OF ACTION, SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED)