A unanimous appeals panel has affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by a former employee of a health management company who alleged he was fired because he is white, finding that the plaintiff had failed to rebut the company’s evidence that he was terminated for drinking and sleeping on the job.
Justice Rolando T. Acosta (See Profile) of the Appellate Division, First Department, said in an opinion yesterday that the case, Bennett v. Health Management Systems Inc., 115015/08, provided an “opportunity to address the evidentiary showing required at the summary judgment stage in a discrimination case brought pursuant to the New York City Human Rights Law.”