The New York City and the New York State Human Rights Laws each protect nonresidents who are not yet employed in the city or state but who proactively sought an actual city- or state-based job opportunity

In response to a question certified to it by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the New York State Court of Appeals held that “the New York City and New York State Human Rights Laws each protect nonresidents who are not yet employed in the city or state but who proactively sought an actual city- or state-based job opportunity.” 

The Circuit Courts' decision is set out below.

 

22-1251

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held at the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, in the City of New York, on the 3rd day of June, two thousand twenty-four.

PRESENT: DENNIS JACOBS, RICHARD J. SULLIVAN, MYRNA PÉREZ, Circuit Judges.

 

NAFEESA SYEED, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

BLOOMBERG L.P., Defendant-Appellee.

 

For Plaintiff-Appellant: NIALL MACGIOLLABHUI, Law Office of Niall MacGiollabhui, New York, NY. 

For Defendant-Appellee: ELISE M. BLOOM, Proskauer Rose LLP, New York, NY (Allison L. Martin, Proskauer Rose LLP, New York, NY, Mark W. Batten, Proskauer Rose LLP, Boston, MA, on the brief). 

Appeal from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Gregory H. Woods, Judge). 

UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the May 10, 2022 judgment of the district court is VACATED and REMANDED for further proceedings.

Nafeesa Syeed appeals from a judgment of the district court dismissing her claims brought under the New York City Human Rights Law (the “NYCHRL”) and the New York State Human Rights Law (the “NYSHRL”) against Bloomberg L.P., her former employer. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the facts and record of the prior proceedings, which we described more fully in our prior opinion certifying certain legal questions to the New York Court of Appeals. See Syeed v. Bloomberg L.P., 58 F.4th 64 (2d Cir. 2023).

On appeal, Syeed argues that the district court erred in holding that job applicants who do not reside or work in New York City or State cannot sue 3 employers under the NYCHRL or NYSHRL for failing to hire or promote them into positions located in the City or State. 

Because this issue was an important and unsettled question of New York law, we certified to the New York Court of Appeals the following question: Whether a nonresident plaintiff not yet employed in New York City or State satisfies the impact requirement of the New York City Human Rights Law or the New York State Human Rights Law if the plaintiff pleads and later proves that an employer deprived the plaintiff of a New York City- or State-based job opportunity on discriminatory grounds. Id. at 71.

In an opinion filed on March 14, 2024, the New York Court of Appeals answered the certified question in the affirmative. See Syeed v. Bloomberg L.P., No. 20, --- N.E.3d ----, 2024 WL 1097279, at *2 (N.Y. Mar. 14, 2024).

Specifically, the court held that “the New York City and New York State Human Rights Laws each protect nonresidents who are not yet employed in the city or state but who proactively sought an actual city- or state-based job opportunity.” Id. at *1. This answer to our certified question contradicts the district court’s reasons for dismissing Syeed’s claims and requires vacatur of that judgment. See J. App’x at 104 (dismissing Syeed’s claims because she did not reside or work in New York City or State).

Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is VACATED and 4 the case is REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with the opinion of the New York Court of Appeals and this order.

We thank the New York Court of Appeals for its assistance in resolving this unsettled question of New York law.

FOR THE COURT:

Catherine O’Hagan Wolfe, Clerk of Court

Where the employer provided plaintiff liberal opportunities to switch shifts with other employees so that Plaintiff could avoid working on the Sabbath, the Appellate Division unanimously affirmed Supreme Courts ruling ruled that, under the circumstances presented, Plaintiff failed to meet her prima facie burden of showing discrimination based on her religion

Campbell v City of New York

2024 NY Slip Op 02772

Decided on May 21, 2024

Appellate Division, First Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.

Decided and Entered: May 21, 2024
Before: Kern, J.P., Oing, Kapnick, Higgitt, Michael, JJ.

Index No. 20810/19 Appeal No. 2334 Case No. 2023-04532

[*1]Krystal Campbell, Appellant,

v

The City of New York, Respondent, Deputy Warden of Corrections Sherrie Remburt, et al. Defendants.

The Law Office of Fred Lichtmacher, P.C., New York (Fred Lichtmacher of counsel), for appellant.

Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix, Corporation Counsel, New York (Hannah J. Sarokin of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Mitchell J. Danziger, J.), entered April 14, 2023, which granted defendant City of New York's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Defendant established that the denial of plaintiff's request to be awarded a post that freed her from weekend work in order to observe her Sabbath did not constitute a refusal to make a reasonable accommodation for plaintiff's religious belief (see Administrative Code of City of NY § 8—107). The record amply supports that defendant afforded plaintiff liberal opportunities to switch shifts with other employees so that plaintiff could avoid working on the Sabbath. Defendant not only made efforts to locate positions that would meet plaintiff needs, but offered her available temporary assignment for other employees who were out (see Chavis v Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. 265 F Supp 3d 391, 400 [SD NY 2017]). At the time of her request, there was no position available that plaintiff desired and which did not conflict with defendant's seniority rules. In any event, an employer is not obligated to provide an employee with an accommodation that the employee requests or prefers (see Silver v City of N.Y. Dept of Homeless Servs., 115 AD3d 485, 485-486 [1st Dept 2014]).

Moreover, under the circumstances presented, plaintiff has failed to meet her prima facie burden of discrimination based on her religion under the McDonnell Douglas test and the somewhat more flexible "mixed-motive" framework (see Melman v Montefiore Med. Ctr., 98 AD3d 107, 113 [1st Dept 2012]; Bennett v Health Mgt. Sys., Inc., 92 AD3d 29, 41 [1st Dept 2011], lv denied 18 NY3d 811 [2012]). Plaintiff was offered numerous opportunities to manage time off for the Sabbath, and the only adverse actions occurred when plaintiff failed to obtain coverage or employ other methods of excused absences and received AWOL designations as a result.

Plaintiff's failure to oppose the parts of defendant's motion seeking dismissal of the retaliation, aiding and abetting, and employer liability claims "constituted anabandonment of the claim[s]" (Ng v NYU Langone Med. Ctr., 157 AD3d 549, 550 [1st Dept 2018]).

We have considered plaintiff's remaining arguments and find them unavailing.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.

ENTERED: May 21, 2024

 

Selected links to items posted on the Internet during the week ending May 31, 2024

Affordable Housing: How Small Is Too Small? The movement to build tiny houses has gotten a lot of attention, but it hasn’t gained much traction in the market. Still, there may be some applications for homes of just a few hundred square feet. READ MORE

 

CA Legislation Would Create AI Risk Standard, Research Hub Two bills related to artificial intelligence governance were passed in the California state Senate on Thursday with unanimous support. Now, Senate bills 892 and 893 will head to the Assembly. READ MORE

 

Can AI and Other Tech Ease Public Safety Workforce Woes? Police departments and emergency dispatch centers need more workers. Gov tech suppliers are rushing to the rescue, promising new software, data integration and other tools to make up for vacant positions. READ MORE

 

Can AI Help Agencies Save Money on Traffic Studies? As agencies get more comfortable with new ways of analyzing data, UrbanLogiq is betting officials will prefer AI-powered tools over typical traffic-counting methods. Already one city has started using such a product. READ MORE

 

ChargePoint Teams With Airbnb for EV Chargers at Rentals Like swimming pools, or full kitchens, electric vehicle charging is just one more perk that travelers are looking for when they book their vacation rentals. READ MORE

 

CivicPlus Makes a Deal With Nextdoor for Hyper-Local Alerts The deal brings together a gov tech firm that focuses on local governments and an app that neighbors use to keep track of what’s going on. CivicPlus says the integration will boost civic engagement. READ MORE

 

Colorado Springs Chatbot Is Powered by AI, City Data AskCOS, the city of Colorado Springs’ new artificial intelligence-enabled chatbot, was trained using Colorado city government information alone. The virtual assistant can answer constituent questions in 71 languages. READ MORE

 

Cyber Attack Forces Michigan Hospitals to Use Paperwork A cyberattack against Michigan Ascension hospitals continues to cause issues, forcing it to divert some ambulances to other hospitals for certain medical issues, delay diagnostic imaging and is affecting its ability to fill prescriptions. READ MORE

 

Federal Agency Warns Water Utilities Against Cyber Attacks The Environmental Protection Agency has warned against hackers affiliated with Iran and China who could sabotage drinking and wastewater resources — attacks it said are increasing in severity and frequency. READ MORE

 

Feds Provide Grants for Safer Streets to Nearly 3/4 of the U.S. Population The U.S. Dept. of Transportation awarded Safe Streets for All grants to 99 communities this month. The grants help fund planning and demonstration projects to reduce dangerous conflicts between road users. READ MORE

 

Florida’s New Office of Ocean Economy Seeks to Spur Discovery The new state department will be housed at Florida Atlantic University. It seeks to harness public and private research, education, technology and business applications involving fresh and salt water. READ MORE

 

Georgia to Scrap New Campaign Reporting System and Start Over After spending an estimated $1.5 million on a new and “improved” e-filing system just a few years ago, the executive secretary of the Georgia Ethics Commission is again requesting proposals for a new system. READ MORE

 

Hawaii May Allow Homeless to Be Assessed Involuntarily Proposed legislation would allow homeless people displaying mental health issues to be taken to a behavioral center against their will for assessment. READ MORE

 

How California’s Gas Vehicle Ban Will Impact the Nation Just two years after California announced its strict new vehicle emission goals, eight other states have followed its lead. But many aren’t sure that the Golden State will hit its goals, or if the state should be the nation’s model. READ MORE

 

How Cyber Volunteers Help Protect Nonprofits and Local Govt University-based cybersecurity clinics are enabling students to offer basic cyber services to local governments, hospitals, nonprofits and other groups with limited resources for the work. READ MORE

 

How Safe Are New Jersey School Buses? Four in 10 school buses in New Jersey failed initial inspections, according to an analysis of 22 months of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission records. Nearly 6,000 inspections led to buses being taken off the road. READ MORE

 

Hundreds of New EV Chargers Planned for Oakland, Calif. Although the chargers are part of several different projects, the result is slated to be the development of hundreds of new electric vehicle charging ports in and around Oakland, Calif. READ MORE

 

Illinois Paid IT Training Program Sees Overwhelming Demand The Illinois IT Trainee Program, offering full-time paid training and a competitive salary, has snagged the attention of aspiring tech professionals, with thousands of people vying for a handful of positions. READ MORE

 

Inside the ‘Space Race’ to Combat Wildfires Private and government organizations are looking for ways to use technology, including networks of satellites, to improve anticipation and prevention of wildfire activity. READ MORE

 

Los Angeles City Council Cuts Budget Without Layoffs The council passed a $12.8 billion budget for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, which is approximately 2 percent less than the current fiscal year’s budget. The city will eliminate 1,700 vacant jobs next fiscal year. READ MORE

 

Low-Wage States With Cheap Housing Dominate Post-Pandemic Jobs Boom Over the last five years, half the nation’s jobs were created in Texas and Florida. California and New York fell to the bottom of the heap, according to a Stateline analysis. READ MORE

 

Meet TritonGPT: AI That Loves Tedious University TasksUC San Diego's TritonGPT, a suite of AI assistants built in-house for data control and cost savings, is writing job descriptions and helping with grant accounting. It's part of UCSD's strategy for handling the mundane. READ MORE

 

Memphis Is Nation's Deadliest City for Pedestrians A new report tracked pedestrian fatality rates in the largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. Almost all of them are becoming more dangerous. READ MORE

 

N.J. School Data Breach May Have Exposed Student Names, SSNs Shore Regional High School District in New Jersey recently found that network intruders may have removed a file in April 2023 containing student names, social security numbers, financial information and other private records. READ MORE

 

Navigating the AI Revolution: The Global Battle for Tech Supremacy Artificial intelligence is yielding unprecedented benefits, battles, opportunities and fears — and advancing faster than ever. What is the latest on the global AI landscape? READ MORE

 

New Open Source Initiative Highlights Flaws in State Government Websites The assessment and educational tool offers insights and solutions for improving government web performance. Based on its criteria, many state and federal agencies have updated their sites. READ MORE

 

NSBA 2024: One Technology Initiative Lays Groundwork for the Next Schools that had already embraced the imperatives of Internet access, digital literacy and 1:1 device plans fared better for it during the pandemic. AI could be a similarly urgent pragmatic concern. READ MORE

 

NYC Schools Plan for Smaller Class Sizes, More Remote Learning The city’s Education Department has directed districts to increase their share of classes in compliance with a reduced size plan by 3 percent. Superintendents can require schools to meet individual targets. READ MORE

 

Report Card: How Satisfied Are People With State Services? A survey of more than 14,000 people who have used state government services recently reveals where state governments excel in customer service and where they fall short. Overall, websites scored higher than mobile applications in terms of user satisfaction. READ MORE

 

Revolutionizing Digital Identity Verification Discover the latest trends in digital identity and fraud prevention. Get the comprehensive study now. ACCESS THE FULL REPORT

 

San Antonio Cybersecurity School Offers Paid Training Unlike some other companies, NukuDo, which operates the school, pays students $4,000 a month during their training. The agreement is that upon course completion, they must work where it places them for three years. READ MORE

 

States Should Think Beyond Mobile Drivers' Licenses for Digital Identity Other forms of digital ID will also be important for serving constituents online and preventing fraud. READ MORE

 

Strategic Budgeting: Connecting Goals, to Action, to Community Impact with Tech To meet the evolving needs of your community, your agency’s strategic plan needs to be actionable and align strategy with the budget  Discover How to Implement Strategic Budgeting

 

Strengthening Digital Identity and Preventing Fraud Research shows most people prefer online interactions with state agencies, but worry about identity fraud. This paper offers solutions. DOWNLOAD

 

The Future of Digital Identity in 2024 Explore how state agencies verify identities and prevent fraud online. Gain insights from our research. DOWNLOAD THE REPORT

 

The Power of Simple for Government Read this brief to find out how applying cloud operating principles and practices to on-premises network infrastructure can help agencies manage complex IT environments. DOWNLOAD

 

Trolls and Their Tolls on Social Media Communicators This eBook from CivicPlus offers strategies for dealing with online trolls and guidance on how social media communicators can keep the peace on their websites without restricting free expression and meaningful and productive conversations. DOWNLOAD

 

Unions’ Recent Organizing Success Draws Political Pushback Unions have recently enjoyed some success in both recruitment and labor actions. They now face resistance from lawmakers in red states, particularly in the South. READ MORE

 

Utility to Invest $16B to Upgrade New York Electric Grid The electricity company National Grid will invest billions over the next five years in an effort to achieve the state’s climate goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40 percent by 2030 and 85 percent by 2050 from 1990 levels. READ MORE

 

Webinar: Adapting GPT-4o for Safe Government Each new OpenAI model brings a big leap in capabilities… and big risks for government users? Join us to learn how to protect yourself and your team. SEE DETAILS & REGISTER

 

What’s New in Digital Equity: Colorado Broadband Laws Signed Plus, the FCC is updating its broadband data collection process, Texas has launched a dashboard on public library Internet speeds, Louisiana is offering online skills training, and more. READ MORE

OATH Administrative Law Judge sustained disciplinary charges alleging that an employee used profane language in an email she sent to her supervisor

New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings Administrative Law Judge Jonathan Fogel recommended a five-day suspension for a project manager who used improper language in an email she sent to her supervisors.

The agency had brought numerous disciplinary charges against the manager, including using profane language in an email, falsifying timesheets and field reports, failing to accurately record her time, disobeying lawful orders, misusing her city position, and recklessly endangering co-workers. The ALJ sustained the charge for using profane language in an email to her supervisors but found that the agency failed to provide sufficient evidence to support the remaining charges.

For the falsifying timesheets allegation, the agency relied on a badge access report listing each time the manager used her employee identification to enter the office, which suggested that the manager was not at the office when she reported to work on 73 dates. 

The ALJ found that the manager provided three credible explanations for the lack of employee identification swipes that were consistent with the badge access report: a co-worker opened the door for her, she worked remotely for a period of time, and she conducted field inspections in the morning before reporting to the office later in the day.

Noting that the employer did not charge the manager with failing to report to the office, the ALJ held that there was insufficient evidence to establish that the manager falsified her timesheets.

Because the employer did not prove most of the charges all of the charges filed against the manager, the ALJ recommended a five-day suspension in lieu of the agency’s requested penalty of termination. 

Click Dep’t of Environmental Protection v. Layman to access Judge Fogel's findings and recommendation.

New York State Comptroller releases municipal audits

On May 29, 2024 New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli announced the following local government audits were issued.

Click on the text highlighted in color to access both the summary and the complete audit report

Eaton No. 1 Fire District – Board Oversight (Madison County)  District officials did not adequately monitor financial activities or keep appropriate records and reports. The board did not ensure basic accounting records were maintained or that it received written financial reports to manage operations or ensure bank reconciliations were performed. In addition, the board did not ensure that the district’s required annual financial reports were filed in a timely manner or conduct an annual audit of the secretary-treasurer’s accounting records for 2020 through 2022. The board also did not properly audit claims prior to payment. Of the 108 claims totaling $209,006 that auditors reviewed, 55 claims totaling $116,864 (56%) had one or more exceptions.

Neptune Hose Company No. 1 of Dryden, Inc. – Disbursements (Tompkins County)  Company disbursements were not always supported or authorized prior to payment. Auditors reviewed 171 disbursements totaling $381,186 and determined that 34, totaling $30,126, were not processed in accordance with the company’s accounting manual. These disbursements had one or more issues, such as improperly authorized purchase orders or were unsupported. Twenty-three disbursements totaling $24,875 were improperly authorized, ten disbursements totaling $18,974 were approved after payment was made, six disbursements totaling $4,530 lacked a payment authorization date and seven disbursements totaling $1,371 were not adequately supported. In addition, sixteen disbursements totaling $6,564 lacked adequate support such as itemized receipts or invoices. Lastly, five company members received unsupported mileage reimbursements totaling $2,573. Because disbursements were not always authorized or supported, officials approved payments without having sufficient documentation.

City of Amsterdam – Budget Review (Montgomery County)   Based on the results of the review, the significant revenue and expenditure projections in the city’s 2024-25 proposed budget are reasonable. However, there were certain revenue and expenditure projections and other matters that should be reviewed by the mayor and council. In addition, city officials did not implement all of the recommendations in a previous review letter when preparing the 2024-25 proposed budget. The mayor submitted the 2024-25 proposed budget to the council on April 22, 2024, or 21 days after the charter-established deadline. The proposed budgets for the general and recreation funds are not structurally balanced because both budgets include subsidies from other funds to finance their operations. City officials should also continue to evaluate and explore ways to make the recreation fund self-sufficient.

                                                   ###