Gomez v. Henry Street Settlement
- Analisa Torres
- 1:20-cv-05585
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Gomez v. Henry Street Settlement, Judge Torres granted defendants’ motion to dismiss because the Title VII claims were untimely and the remaining claims lacked jurisdiction.
Jorge Gomez’s employment discrimination case against Henry Street Settlement, Renee Best, and Priscilla DelSol-Hill was dismissed, and the case was closed.
What happened
In Gomez v. Henry Street Settlement, Jorge Gomez, representing himself, sued Henry Street Settlement, Renee Best, and Priscilla DelSol-Hill over alleged racial and national-origin discrimination at work. He alleged that Best used racially derogatory language, DelSol-Hill did not respond to his complaints, and Henry Street Settlement fired him.
Gomez filed the case after receiving a notice from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission telling him he could sue. A magistrate judge recommended dismissing the Title VII claims as filed too late and dismissing the New York State and New York City claims because the court lacked authority to hear them. Gomez objected and argued, among other things, that his circumstances and the COVID-19 pandemic should excuse the delay.
Judge Analisa Torres overruled Gomez’s objections, found no clear error in the recommendation, adopted it in full, and granted defendants’ motion to dismiss. The court directed the Clerk to close the case.
The detailed version
- Gomez v. Henry Street Settlement · No. 1:20-cv-05585
- Analisa Torres
- Sept. 17, 2021
Background
Jorge Gomez brought an employment discrimination action against Henry Street Settlement, Renee Best, and Priscilla DelSol-Hill. The opinion states that Gomez represented himself. He alleged that he worked for Henry Street Settlement beginning June 20, 2016; that Best, his supervisor, directed racially derogatory language toward him; that DelSol-Hill, a human-resources employee, did not act on his complaints; and that he was fired on February 8, 2018. He also alleged that the firing occurred because he knew about Henry Street Settlement’s alleged “double dipping” from funders.
On March 26, 2018, Gomez submitted a complaint to the New York City Commission on Human Rights alleging racial and national-origin discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent a dismissal and notice-of-rights letter on March 4, 2020. Gomez stated that he received it at the end of March or in early April. He filed this federal action on July 20, 2020.
Report and Recommendation
Defendants moved to dismiss under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). Rule 12(b)(1) concerns the court’s authority to hear a case, and Rule 12(b)(6) concerns whether a complaint states a legally sufficient claim. The Court referred the motion to Magistrate Judge Barbara C. Moses, who recommended construing Gomez’s allegations as hostile-work-environment and retaliation claims under Title VII, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law.
Judge Moses recommended dismissing the Title VII claims as time-barred because Gomez did not file within the applicable 90-day period after the right-to-sue letter. She also recommended that the court decline to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state and city claims. Supplemental jurisdiction is the court’s authority to hear related state-law claims alongside federal claims.
Objections and Ruling
Gomez objected to the recommendation. He argued that his pro se status, the COVID-19 pandemic, and his son’s health conditions should excuse the filing deadline. He also relied on material that he had not previously presented to Judge Moses and argued that his submission to the New York City Commission on Human Rights and other evidence proved his discrimination claims. The court declined to consider new arguments and evidence raised for the first time in the objections. It reviewed the other objections for clear error and found none.
Judge Analisa Torres overruled Gomez’s objections and adopted the report and recommendation in its entirety. The court held that the Title VII claims were time-barred and that the court should not exercise supplemental jurisdiction over the state and city claims. Defendants’ motion to dismiss was GRANTED. The Clerk was directed to terminate the motion, mail Gomez a copy of the order, and close the case.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.