No. 20-Cv-3389 (AT) (S.D.N.Y. 2025) (approving class action settlement of $29 million in race discrimination claims brought on behalf of Fire Protection Inspectors against New York City under federal civil rights law and U.S. Constitution)
Notable Case Category: Civil Rights & Employment Discrimination
Barzilay v. City of New York
610 F.Supp.3d 544 (S.D.N.Y. 2022) (denying City’s summary judgment motion such that EMTs and paramedics disciplined for speaking publicly about their COVID-19 experiences in violation of their constitutional rights were permitted to proceed to trial, leading to favorable settlement of EMTs’ claims)
Defalco v. MTA Bus Co.
No. 15-CV-7369 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 22, 2021) (on remand from Second Circuit, denying MTA Bus Company’s renewed motion for summary judgment, ultimately leading to a favorable settlement for employees)
Defalco v. MTA Bus Co.
788 F. App’x 43 (2d Cir. 2019) (vacating lower court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of MTA Bus Co. on employees’ claims for false arrest and malicious prosecution)
Transport Workers Union, Local 100 v. N.Y. City Transit Auth.
The court enjoined the continued use of the Transit Authority’s sick leave policy, under which employees were required to disclose information on diagnosis, prognosis and treatment with respect to any sickness that occasioned an absence of three days or more. Plaintiffs argued that the disclosure requirements violated the prohibition on disability-related inquiries found in the Americans with Disabilities Act. Following trial, the court ruled that the Authority could not continue to apply its policy to all employees in non-safety sensitive positions, but only with respect to a small group of employees with a demonstrated record of sick leave abuse.
Transport Workers Union, Local 100 v. N.Y. City Transit Auth., 348 F. Supp. 2d 432 (S.D.N.Y. 2004)
Rodolico v. Unisys Corp.
The Court granted plaintiffs’ motion for Rule 23(b) class certification of state law claims for 126 engineers who were 40 or older when laid off by Unisys Corporation and found that the plaintiffs could maintain a collective action under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act on behalf of all employees who had “opted in” to the lawsuit. After deposing all 126 plaintiffs, the defendant settled.
Rodolico v. Unisys Corp., 199 F.R.D. 468 (E.D.N.Y. 2001)
Chan v. City of N.Y.
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a District Court holding that laborer plaintiffs, who had sued to recover wages at federal prevailing wage rates, were entitled to enforce the prevailing wage law under Section 1983 (civil rights statute). The Court also found that the private employer defendant could be said to be acting under color of state law as required by Section 1983 because it had a close nexus with the municipal defendants. After the Supreme Court denied the defendants’ petition for review, the defendants settled.
Chan v. City of N.Y., 1 F.3d 96 (2d Cir. 1993)
Burka v. N.Y. City Transit Auth.
The firm’s client, a public bus operator, was suspended for 60 days after allegedly testing positive for marijuana. After trial, a federal court held that the procedures used in the disciplinary proceeding leading to the adjudication that he had ingested marijuana and to his suspension violated constitutional due process. Thereafter, the suspension was overturned and the firm’s client was awarded backpay.
Burka v. N.Y. City Transit Auth., 739 F. Supp. 814 (S.D.N.Y. 1990)
Boe v. Colello
A federal court struck down an Orangetown, New York ordinance requiring a license to sell a newspaper or periodical which police and town officials had used to arrest and prosecute distributors of a newspaper, holding that the ordinance infringed upon the First Amendment rights of free press and free speech of both the newspaper distributors and readers. The Court also enjoined town officials from arresting and commencing prosecution of plaintiffs in the future for alleged violations of the condemned statute.
Boe v. Colello, 438 F. Supp. 145 (S.D.N.Y. 1977)