Concerning courts consideration of an inference of unlawful discrimination advanced by a plaintiff to show that the employer subjected the plaintiff to disparate treatment

In an action the Plaintiff, who had been employed by the City University of New York [CCNY] as a peace officer on a CCNY campus, sought to recover damages for alleged employment discrimination on the basis of religion and national origin and for alleged unlawful retaliation.

Supreme Court granted the Employer's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. The Appellate Division affirmed the Supreme Court's granting the Employer's motion. In so doing, the Appellate Division, citing Graham v Long Is. R.R., 230 F3d 34, noted that "To prevail on a summary judgment motion in an action alleging discrimination in violation of the New York State Human Rights Law [NYSHRL]:

1. An employer must demonstrate either a plaintiff's failure to establish every element of intentional discrimination, or, 

2. If the employer offered legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the challenged actions, the plaintiff must raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the employer's explanations were pretextual.

In this instance, the court, with respect to the "employment discrimination cause of action", observed that the Employer argued the Plaintiff failed to satisfy the fourth element: that the discharge occurred under circumstances giving rise to an inference of unlawful discrimination. Addressing this "fourth element", the Appellate Division said an employer can demonstrate that the termination did not occur under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination by providing a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason for the termination, and "demonstrating the absence of a material issue of fact as to whether its reason for termination was merely pretextual."

Citing Forrest v Jewish Guild for the Blind, 3 NY3d at page 308, footnote 5, the Appellate Division opined that "[It] matters not whether the [employer's] stated reason for terminating plaintiff was a good reason, a bad reason, or a petty one. What matters is that the [employer's] stated reason for terminating plaintiff was nondiscriminatory".

In this instance the court concluded the Employer "met its prima facie burden by offering legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the [Plaintiff's] termination and by demonstrating the absence of material issues of fact as to whether its explanations were pretextual". In contrast, "Plaintiff failed to raise a triable issue of fact regarding pretext for discrimination".

Accordingly, the Appellate Division held that "Supreme Court properly granted the [Employer's] motion for summary judgment dismissing the [Plaintiff's] complaint".

Click HERE to access the Appellate Division's decision posted on the Internet.

Denise M. Miranda confirmed as Commissioner of the New York State Division of Human Rights

On June 2, 2025, the New York State Division of Human Rights announced that Denise M. Miranda, Esq. was confirmed as Commissioner of the Division by the New York State Senate following her historic nomination by Governor Kathy Hochul. 

The Division's announcement noted:

"Commissioner Miranda becomes the first Afro-Latina to serve in this role at the Division, and her confirmation follows her service as the Acting Commissioner since March 2024. 

"Under the Commissioner’s leadership, the Division has launched ambitious efforts to overhaul the agency’s discrimination complaint intake and case management processes while also implementing vital organizational changes and operational improvements. 

"These essential upgrades will result in a bolder, more powerful, and more efficient Division that is prepared to protect the rights of all New Yorkers at a time when that mission has never been more critical.

"Commissioner Miranda was appointed by Governor Hochul in March 2024 to serve as the Acting Commissioner of the Division of Human Rights. 

"Prior to this, Commissioner Miranda served as the Executive Director of the New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs for seven years. She oversaw the agency’s operations, which included investigations into abuse and neglect, criminal prosecutions, and administrative disciplinary proceedings. Under her leadership, the Justice Center managed the care of over one million individuals, with a workforce of more than 425 employees and a $41 million operating budget. 

 

"For nearly 30 years, Commissioner Miranda has been actively engaged in the practice of law and focused the majority of her career on social justice issues and protecting the rights of vulnerable individuals. Beyond her professional accomplishments, she is deeply committed to community service and embodies the values of justice, inclusion, and strategic leadership."

 

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued the audits described below on May 30, 2025

The New York State and agency audits summarized below were posted on the Internet on May 30, 2025.

Click on the text highlighted in color to access the complete text of the audit.

Empire State Development – COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program (2023-S-10)
Empire State Development (ESD) was charged with administering the COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program (Program) designed to support small businesses or for-profit independent arts and cultural organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic that either did not qualify for federal assistance programs or that received inadequate federal COVID-19 support. ESD awarded the entirety of the $760 million allocated for small businesses to 40,842 applicants, with an average grant amount of $18,608. Auditors found ESD awarded almost $4.1 million to 101 businesses that were ineligible because they had already received assistance from federal business assistance programs. Additionally, ESD did not consider business type, need, or factors established in the original goals of the Program when awarding grants, instead favoring a first-come, first-served methodology to awarding grants, which resulted in tens of thousands of businesses that went unfunded and certain types of businesses—most notably sole proprietor transportation businesses without employees (i.e., rideshare drivers)—receiving a significant percentage of the total dollars spent.

State Education Department (Preschool Special Education Audit Initiative) – Jackson Child Development Center, Inc.: Compliance With the Reimbursable Cost Manual (2022-S-21)
Jackson Child Development Center, Inc. (JCDC), a New York City-based not-for-profit organization, is approved by the State Education Department (SED) to provide preschool special education services to children with disabilities ages 3 to 5. For the three fiscal years ended June 30, 2020, JCDC reported approximately $24 million in reimbursable costs for its SED preschool cost-based programs. Auditors identified $3,020,800 in reported costs that did not comply with requirements.

Department of Health and Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services – Oversight of Water Supply Emergency Plans (Follow-Up) (2024-F-32)
The State Public Health Law requires community water systems that supply drinking water to more than 3,300 people to prepare and submit a Water Supply Emergency Plan to the Department of Health (DOH) for approval at least once every five years. Plans must include an Emergency Response Plan, a Vulnerability Analysis Assessment, and a Cybersecurity Vulnerability Assessment. A prior audit, issued in June 2023, found several instances where it had been more than 10 years since the last Emergency Response Plan or Vulnerability Analysis submission, and some water systems had never submitted a Cybersecurity Vulnerability Assessment. Further, there was limited participation by Local Health Department staff in calls and site visits where the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) communicates recommendations to water systems. DOH and DHSES officials have made significant progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit report, implementing four recommendations and not implementing one.

Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance – Monitoring of Homeless Data (2023-S-38)
The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) supervises homeless shelters and related programs through 58 local departments of social services (Local Districts). While reports from Local Districts provide aggregate data to OTDA, Local Districts typically also collect and submit client-level data on the populations they serve to Homeless Management Information Systems (HMISs). In New York, federally funded regional or local planning bodies—Continuums of Care (CoCs)—that coordinate housing and services funding control access to the HMISs but are not required to share this data with OTDA or provide open access to the Local Districts that submit this data. Auditors found OTDA does not have access to the client-level data collected in the various HMISs—data that could be analyzed and used to help identify the root causes of homelessness, gauge progress toward achieving permanent housing, and better determine what programs are used or needed by the homeless population. OTDA asserts that it has no oversight of the HMIS data controlled by the CoCs and, consequently, has acquired permission to access the data from only seven of 24 CoCs, which represent approximately 7% of the State’s homeless population based on the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s point-in-time count.

New York State Health Insurance Program – UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York: Overpayments for Physician-Administered Drugs (Follow-Up) (2024-F-35)
The Empire Plan is the primary health insurance plan for the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), providing over one million members with health insurance coverage. The Department of Civil Service, which administers NYSHIP, contracts with UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York (United) to administer the Medical/Surgical Program of the Empire Plan and to process and pay claims submitted by health care providers. Medical/surgical benefits cover a range of services, including physician-administered drugs, which are drugs (other than vaccines) that are administered by a health care provider in a physician’s office or other outpatient clinical setting. A prior audit, issued in September 2023, identified over $5.5 million in actual and potential overpayments for physician-administered drugs. United officials made some progress in addressing the problems identified in the initial audit, recovering about $501,000 of the overpaid claims, and were taking steps to make more recoveries. Of the initial report’s eight audit recommendations, one was implemented, six were partially implemented, and one was not implemented.