The New York State Department of Financial Services [DFS] appeal the District Court denial of its post-verdict motion for judgment as a matter of law, or, alternatively, for a new trial, after a jury found DFS liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., for unlawfully discriminating against an individual [Petitioner] based on his national origin when it failed to promote him.
On the issue of liability, DFS argued that the jury’s answer to a special interrogatory on the verdict form demonstrated [1] a level of jury confusion that warranted a new trial and that [2] the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support Petitioner’s claims. After reviewing the record, the Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, reject DFS' arguments and affirm the judgment substantially for reasons stated in the District Court opinion and order.
Addressing DFS' challenge to the damages awarded by the District Court, the Circuit Court said that DFS contended that the District Court erred in calculating the Petitioner's damages award when it used "a comparator hired from outside of the civil service," citing for the first time the New York State Department of Civil Service’s State Personnel Management Manual [Manual], which, in pertinent part, states that §131.1-a of the State Civil Service Law* applies only to external candidates hired from outside the New York Civil Service.
Finding that DFS failed to make the District Court aware of these provisions set out in the Manual and relying on §131.1-a for the first time on appeal, the Circuit Court, noting that the District Court had some discretion in using the salaries of comparators to determine back pay in this case, the affirmed the District Court’s damages award.
* Civil Service Law §131.1-a, Appointment above minimum salary in certain cases, provides that "Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, with respect to positions allocated to salary grades in section one hundred thirty of this chapter the director of the classification and compensation division, subject to the approval of the director of the budget, may authorize an increased hiring rate, not to exceed the job rate of the salary grade of the position to which a person is to be appointed when the training or experience of such appointee substantially exceeds requirements necessary for appointment. The salaries of other employees serving in the same title in the same geographical area or location having qualifications of training or experience equivalent to those of the person appointed shall be increased by such amount as may be necessary to equal the rate of compensation of the person appointed.
The decision is posted on the Internet at: http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/ebddfaba-00e1-4235-a653-50e2d8616b95/1/doc/18-2614_so.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/ebddfaba-00e1-4235-a653-50e2d8616b95/1/hilite/