When you seek justice for sexual harassment in New York, most opportunities to make the process more efficient are welcome ones. If you can shorten the process without compromising your right to recovery, you have the potential to save time, stress, and money. That includes seeking a form of relief called “summary judgment.” Obtaining a summary judgment in your favor in your New York City sexual harassment case is relatively rare, but is not impossible. As one recent case against the city government demonstrates, summary judgment may be available when a prior proceeding, such as a disciplinary hearing, has established vital facts. When it comes to seeking summary judgment and using previous proceedings to win this type of motion, it pays to have knowledgeable New York sexual harassment counsel on your side.
As Cornell Law School explains it, a summary judgment is “a judgment entered by a court for one party and against another party without a full trial.” A party is entitled to a summary judgment when there is “no genuine issue of material fact.”
That was the outcome in the recent sexual harassment case involving a New York City 9-1-1 operator and her supervisor. H.A., the victim, was a 911 operator (officially an NYPD “police communications technician”) in the Bronx. A.P., an NYPD captain, was H.A.’s direct supervisor.
According to the technician’s lawsuit, the supervisor sexually harassed her for years. He allegedly offered her extra time off and reduced disciplinary penalties in exchange for photographs and once propositioned the technician by offering to take action in H.A.’s pending disciplinary case if she would “sit on [his] lap.”
The NYPD’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity investigated and found that the captain engaged in multiple varieties of misconduct, including making inappropriate sexual comments, engaging in unwanted sexual contact, and making disparaging marks about someone in a protected class. The judge overseeing the case eventually found the captain guilty on all four counts.
The NYPD’s discipline against the captain was a significant boon to the call-taker’s sexual harassment case in civil court. The technician argued that, based on the findings of the internal investigation, she was entitled to a summary judgment in her favor, which meant that she had established all the elements of civil liability without even needing the benefit of a trial.
The trial judge agreed and granted that judgment to the technician.
The court concluded that the technician cleared the hurdles imposed by the law when she produced the OEEO investigative report, the judge’s decision in the OEEO action against the captain, and H.A.’s affidavit.
A hostile work environment under the New York City Human Rights Law requires only that the victim “was treated less well than other employees because of her protected status; (2) “discrimination was a motivating factor” in the conduct; and (3) “the conduct [took place] in the terms, conditions or privileges of employment.”
The findings in the OEEO case demonstrated each element of the technician’s claims. Under the NYCHRL, “an employer is strictly liable for discriminatory or harassing acts committed by a supervisor... ‘regardless of whether the [employer] knew or should have known of such discriminatory conduct and regardless of whether the [employer] attempted to remedy the discriminatory conduct.’” The law also says that “superiors’ misconduct is imputed automatically.”
Here, the OEEO case established that the captain, a man, repeatedly made “unwelcome sexual advances” toward H.A., including “quid pro quo propositions, unconsented hand-rubbing, [and] graphic sexual remarks.” The city was strictly liable for the captain’s misconduct because he undeniably was H.A.’s direct supervisor. That status meant the employer was vicariously liable regardless of its policies, training programs, or lack of knowledge of the harassment.
In other words, the technician’s statements in her affidavit, along with the evidence contained in the investigatory file the NYPD undertook against the captain, were all the woman needed to make her case.
Many cases will not proceed like this woman’s lawsuit did. Most will require a trial to resolve essential facts in dispute. Whatever your case needs for a successful outcome, count on the dedicated New York City sexual harassment attorneys at Phillips & Associates PLLC to help get you there. Our team has the experience, knowledge, and diligence you need to help you get the justice you deserve. To learn more, please get in touch with us online or call (866) 229-9441 to schedule a complimentary and confidential consultation today.