MANHATTAN (CN) - A postal worker's complaint that he was attacked by his supervisor should not have been dismissed, the 2nd Circuit ruled.
Joseph Mathirampuzha sued U.S. Postmaster General John Potter, claiming that Ron Sacco punched him in the shoulder and chest, spit in his face, and poked him in the eye.
Sacco also allegedly told Mathirampuzha, "I'll never let you go to the Hartford plant," in response to the plaintiff's repeated requests to be transferred there.
Judge Sack noted that the plaintiff complained of only one incident, which did not fall under Title VII protections against employment discrimination.
"Nowhere did the plaintiff assert or imply a retaliatory motive for Sacco's conduct," Sack wrote, "nor did he indicate that he had been ... subjected to a hostile work environment."
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.