NEWARK, NJ – A New Jersey federal judge refused to dismiss a former employee’s lawsuit against her employer NY Loft, LLC after she claimed she was subjected to a hostile work environment when a co-owner of the company displayed a graphic image of a nude woman in the workplace for weeks leading up to her termination.
Karen Dupray, a former administrative assistant at NY Loft’s North Bergen warehouse, alleges that one of the company’s co-owners—either Ofer Goldshtein or Iko Aviv—posted a centerfold image of a “frontally naked woman” in the workplace in December and kept it up through January. When she complained via email on January 30, 2024, she was fired the next day.
Dupray filed a lawsuit in September in New Jersey Superior Court, claiming a hostile work environment and retaliation under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. The case was removed to federal court earlier this year, and NY Loft and manager Ana Sternberg sought to dismiss the hostile work environment claim, arguing that a single image—even if sexually explicit—did not meet the legal threshold for “severe or pervasive” discrimination.
But U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi ruled Monday that Dupray’s complaint alleged a continuous, not isolated, incident. The photo remained posted in the workplace for at least six weeks, according to court documents. The judge further noted that the image was allegedly posted by one of the company’s owners, who exercised authority over Dupray.
In denying the motion to dismiss, the court emphasized that harassment by someone in a supervisory role may carry added weight, and the cumulative impact of repeated exposure to a sexually explicit image could plausibly create a hostile work environment under state law.
The court will allow Dupray to move forward with both her hostile work environment and retaliation claims as litigation proceeds.
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Key Points
- Judge denied NY Loft’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment over nude photo displayed at work
- Plaintiff claims image remained posted in workplace for over a month and was put up by company co-owner
- Court ruled repeated exposure and supervisory involvement were enough to plausibly allege a hostile work environment
Judge says nude photo in warehouse could support NJ worker’s sexual harassment case