Supreme Court's rejection of Defendants' [City Respondents] motion to dismiss Plaintiff's causes of action alleging discrimination and retaliation under the New York City Human Rights Law [City HRL] and New York State Human Rights Law [State HRL]; her aiding and abetting claims; and her claims under the Gender-Motivated Violence Act [GMVA]* was unanimously affirmed by the Appellate Division, without costs.
The Appellate Division held that dismissal of Plaintiff's federal discrimination claims at the pleading stage "does not preclude Plaintiff's City and State Human Rights Laws claims based on principles of collateral estoppel."
In addition, the court noted that "employment discrimination claims brought under the City and State HRLs are generally analyzed under a more lenient notice pleading standard than federal discrimination claims and need only give a Defendant "fair notice" of the nature and grounds of Plaintiff's claims."
On a "motion to dismiss" a court a must accept allegations which evidence at least some gender-based animus as true. In this instance the Appellate Division found:
1. Plaintiff sufficiently pleaded her claims of discrimination and hostile work environment under the State and City HRLs by alleging she received more intense scrutiny and was excluded from meetings that her male, non-Black peer was invited to join;
2. Plaintiff had sufficiently pleaded her retaliation claim, as the complaint alleges, and therefore provides City Respondents with fair notice of City Respondents' alleged retaliatory conduct following Plaintiff's protected actions of filing various complaints and retaining counsel in response to City Respondents' allegedly discriminatory acts; and
3. Plaintiff sufficiently stated a claim under the GVMA as she alleged she had been physically harmed her by being struck by another individual and that individual had directed animus against another Black female employee in the past.
The Court said it must accept these allegations, which evidence at least some gender-based animus, as true on a motion to dismiss (Sassi v Mobile Life Support Servs., Inc., 37 NY3d 236, 241 [2021]).
* Administrative Code of City of NY § 8-903.
Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.