Obscure Brooklyn Appellate Ruling Protects Transgender People from Discrimination Without Saying So

Talk about “hiding the ball!” On June 6, a unanimous four-judge panel of the New York Appellate Division, 2nd Department, based in Brooklyn, confirmed an Order by the State Division of Human Rights (SDHR), which had adopted a decision by an agency administrative law judge (ALJ) ruling that a Port Jervis employer violated the human rights law when it discharged a transgender employee.

But nobody reading the court’s short memorandum opinion, or the short … <Read More>


Sears Roebuck Loses Summary Judgment Motion in Sexual Orientation Hostile Environment Case

N.Y. Supreme Court Justice Debra James has rejected a motion for summary judgment by Sears Roebuck on a claim that a gay former employee at Sears’ Auto Center in Nanuet, N.Y., was subjected to a hostile working environment in violation of New York State’s Human Rights Law, which forbids employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.  However, Justice James’ June 28 decision granted Sears’ motion to reject Joseph DeVito’s retaliation claim stemming from a promotion he … <Read More>