Court Of Appeals Clarifies That New York's Anti Discrimination Laws Apply To Out-Of-State Job Applicants

• Published date: 26 March 2024
• Subject Matter: Employment and HR, Government, Public Sector, Discrimination, Disability & Sexual Harassment, Employee Rights/ Labour Relations, Human Rights
• Law Firm: Reavis Page Jump
• Author: Alice Jump

In Syeed v. Bloomberg L.P., 2024 N.Y. Slip Op. 01330, 2024 WL 1097279, at **3-4 (Mar. 14, 2024), the New York Court of Appeals held that New York State and City Human Rights Laws apply to out-of-state job applicants who are seeking employment in New York, thus clarifying its prior decision in Hoffman v. Parade Publ'ns, 15 N.Y.3d 285 (2010), which held that the plaintiff had to show some impact in New York for the laws to apply.

Plaintiff Nafeesa Syeed, a South Asian-American woman, brought suit against defendant Bloomberg for race and sex discrimination under the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws. She alleged that in 2018, she applied for various positions with Bloomberg that were all located in New York, including a position as a United Nations reporter. After her managing editor in Washington, D.C. told Syeed that Bloomberg had decided not to convert the U.N. job to a 'diversity slot,' plaintiff informed her team leader and managing editor that she could no longer work for defendant because of the discrimination that she had encountered. She then left defendant's employ, claiming constructive discharge.

The Southern District of New York dismissed Plaintiff's claims finding that Syeed could not show that defendant's conduct impacted her in New York State or City. Syeed v. Bloomberg L.P., 568 F.Supp.3d 314, 321 (S.D.N.Y. 2021). The District Court read Hoffman and its progeny to hold that the Human Rights Laws are limited to people who live or work in New York. Plaintiff appealed and the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, recognizing that there were conflicting decisions at the District Court level, certified the...