We have known all along that employers can be held liable for the discriminatory acts of managers, supervisors and even employees. But what about independent contractors? According to a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the answer can be yes. In Halpert v. Manhattan Apartments, Inc., the plaintiff, a [...]
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently overturned an earlier summary judgment, finding a 64-year-old employee established enough inconsistencies in his employers’ reasons for firing him to establish that those reasons were merely pretext for age discrimination. (See Hare v. Denver Merch. Mart Inc., 10th Cir., No. 06-1270, unpublished opinion, 11/2/07). [...]
A state appeals court recently overturned a New York City law requiring city contractors and vendors to extend employee benefits to domestic partners ( Council of the City of New York v. Bloomberg, N.Y. App. Div. No. 5995 3/15/05). The New York City Council passed the law (Local Law 27) in July 2004 citing states [...]
In Stonehill College v. Massachusetts Comm’n Against Discrimination, a 6-1 decision handed down May 6, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reversed a six-year policy allowing employers the constitutional right to a jury trial in state discrimination cases. The decision overruled the Court’s prior decision in Lavelle v. MCAD, a 1997 case where the Court [...]
In March 2004, a federal judge held Calhoon MEBA Engineering School, a Maryland school for marine officers, was entitled to summary judgment on an African American maintenance employee’s racial harassment claims, even though the school’s equal employment opportunity policies had “stark deficiencies.” The school’s policy required all employees to report incidents of harassment to [...]