Opinion ID: 739296
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Dismissal of pre-termination claims

Text: 30 Lightfoot insists that he should have received a pay raise in 1988 when he was promoted to Business Director. Under the ADEA, a plaintiff in a deferral state such as New York must first file an administrative charge with the EEOC within 300 days of the alleged violation in order to preserve his right to bring a lawsuit. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 626(d), 633(b). A claim under the NYSHRL must then be filed within three years of the alleged discriminatory act. See Murphy v. American Home Prods. Corp., 58 N.Y.2d 293, 461 N.Y.S.2d 232, 238-40, 448 N.E.2d 86, 92-93 (1983). 31 To maintain his pay-disparity claim, Lightfoot would have had to file a charge with the EEOC within 300 days of his 1988 promotion and also file his complaint in federal court within three years of that promotion. He missed both of these deadlines. The district court thus properly dismissed the claim as time barred under both the ADEA and the NYSHRL. 32 Lightfoot attempts to circumnavigate the EEOC filing deadline by arguing that defendants' failure to pay him at an appropriate salary level should be treated as a continuing violation. We have recognized a continuing-violation exception to both Title VII and ADEA cases. Under the exception, a plaintiff who files a timely EEOC charge about a particular discriminatory act committed in furtherance of an ongoing policy of discrimination extends the limitations period for all claims of discriminatory acts committed under that policy even if those acts, standing alone, would have been barred by the statute of limitations. See Lambert v. Genesee Hosp., 10 F.3d 46, 53 (2d Cir.1993); Cook v. Pan Am. World Airways, 771 F.2d 635, 646 (2d Cir.1985). The continuing-violation exception applies where there is evidence of specific discriminatory practices, such as the repeated use of discriminatory seniority lists or employment tests. See Lambert, 10 F.3d at 53; Association Against Discrimination in Employment, Inc. v. City of Bridgeport, 647 F.2d 256, 274-75 (2d Cir.1981). Discrete incidents of discrimination that are unrelated to an identifiable policy or practice, on the other hand, will not ordinarily amount to a continuing violation, unless such incidents are specifically related and are allowed to continue unremedied for so long as to amount to a discriminatory policy or practice. Van Zant v. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, 80 F.3d 708, 713 (2d Cir.1996). 33 Lightfoot contends that between 1988 and his termination in 1992 he was repeatedly demoted, and his pay grade remained frozen. He argues that the denial of a pay-grade increase, the alleged demotions, and his termination were part of an ongoing policy of victimizing older employees. Although the mere allegation of the existence of such a policy would be sufficient to withstand a challenge for failure to state a claim, something more is required to avoid summary judgment on the issue. Summary judgment is designed to pierce the pleadings to flush out those cases that are predestined to result in a directed verdict. Lightfoot has presented no evidence to support his claim of a discriminatory policy or a connection between his job reassignments and a discriminatory animus. 34 If Lightfoot was entitled to a pay raise because of the added responsibilities of his new position, the entitlement arose at the time of his promotion. Completed acts such as a termination through discharge or resignation, a job transfer, or discontinuance of a particular job assignment, are not acts of a 'continuing' nature. Malarkey v. Texaco, 559 F.Supp. 117, 121 (S.D.N.Y.1982), aff'd, 704 F.2d 674 (2d Cir.1983) (per curiam) (affirming on grounds of failure to state a claim). Lightfoot's attempt to characterize as a continuing violation Carbide's alleged failure to compensate him adequately is therefore unavailing. 35 Lightfoot next argues that Carbide's failure to offer him adequate compensation should nevertheless be considered a continuing violation because Lightfoot continued to feel the effects of the lower pay up to the time he was terminated and because another manager was later promoted to the business director position at a higher salary. This position is clearly without merit under Malarkey. See 559 F.Supp. at 121. A continuing violation is not established merely because an employee continues to feel the effects of a discriminatory act on the part of the employer. To hold otherwise would render meaningless the time limitations imposed on discrimination actions. 36