Case 6:21-cv-00973-LEK-ATB Document 1 Filed 08/30/21 Page 1 of 7
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
`
`JESSICA APPLEBY,
`
`v.
`
`IORA HEALTH, INC.,
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`Defendant.
`
`COMPLAINT
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`Civil Action No. 6:21-cv-00973 (LEK/ATB)
`
`Plaintiff Jessica Appleby, by and through her attorneys, Tully Rinckey PLLC, sets forth
`
`the following as and for the complaint against Defendant Iora Health, Inc.:
`
`NATURE OF ACTION
`
`1. This action is brought pursuant to the Equal Pay Act 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., NY Labor
`
`Law Chapter 31, Article 6, § 190 et seq., and New York Executive Law § 290 et seq. The
`
`jurisdiction of this Court is invoked to secure protection of and redress deprivation of
`
`rights guaranteed by federal and state laws, which rights provide for injunctive and other
`
`relief for illegal discrimination and retaliation in employment.
`
`JURISDICTION
`
`2. Jurisdiction is proper before this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and 29 U.S.C. §
`
`201 et seq.
`
`3. This Court has supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiff’s state law claims under 28 U.S.C.
`
`§ 1367 and the New York State Human Rights Law, Article 15, § 290, et seq. and NY
`
`Labor Law Chapter 31, Article 6, § 190 et seq.
`
`1
`
`
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
`
`JESSICA APPLEBY,
`
`v.
`
`IORA HEALTH, INC.,
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`Defendant.
`
`COMPLAINT
`
`JURY TRIAL DEMANDED
`
`Civil Action No. 6:21-cv-00973 (LEK/ATB)
`
`Plaintiff Jessica Appleby, by and through her attorneys, Tully Rinckey PLLC, sets forth
`
`the following as and for the complaint against Defendant Iora Health, Inc.:
`
`NATURE OF ACTION
`
`1. This action is brought pursuant to the Equal Pay Act 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., NY Labor
`
`Law Chapter 31, Article 6, § 190 et seq., and New York Executive Law § 290 et seq. The
`
`jurisdiction of this Court is invoked to secure protection of and redress deprivation of
`
`rights guaranteed by federal and state laws, which rights provide for injunctive and other
`
`relief for illegal discrimination and retaliation in employment.
`
`JURISDICTION
`
`2. Jurisdiction is proper before this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331, and 29 U.S.C. §
`
`201 et seq.
`
`3. This Court has supplemental jurisdiction over plaintiff’s state law claims under 28 U.S.C.
`
`§ 1367 and the New York State Human Rights Law, Article 15, § 290, et seq. and NY
`
`Labor Law Chapter 31, Article 6, § 190 et seq.
`
`1
`
`
`
`Case 6:21-cv-00973-LEK-ATB Document 1 Filed 08/30/21 Page 2 of 7
`
`VENUE
`
`4. Venue is proper by virtue of 28 U.S.C. § 1391, in that the events giving rise to the claims
`
`in this action arose in this judicial district.
`
`PARTIES
`
`5. At all times relevant herein, Jessica Appleby (hereinafter, the “Plaintiff”) was and remains
`
`a natural person and currently resides in the County of Otsego, State of New York.
`
`6. At all times relevant herein, Iora Health, Inc. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was and
`
`remains a Foreign Business Corporation registered with the New York State Department
`
`of State, DOS ID 4303149, County of Kings, State of New York.
`
`FACTUAL BACKGROUND
`
`7. Plaintiff is female.
`
`8. Since on or around April 2021, Defendant has employed Plaintiff as a Data Engineer.
`
`9. At all times relevant herein, Plaintiff was a salaried employee earning $105,000 per year.
`
`10. On or about July 20, 2021, Plaintiff learned that her position, along with another female
`
`employee, was coded as a Level 3 Senior BI Engineer.
`
`11. On or about July 20, 2021, Plaintiff learned that all of her male colleagues’ positions were
`
`coded as Level 5 Staff Engineers.
`
`12. Upon information and belief, Plaintiff’s male colleagues were hired to the same job
`
`position as was Plaintiff.
`
`13. Upon information and belief, the positions Plaintiff and her male colleagues held were the
`
`same job title and duties, but were internally coded differently.
`
`
`
`2
`
`
`
`Case 6:21-cv-00973-LEK-ATB Document 1 Filed 08/30/21 Page 3 of 7
`
`14. Plaintiff’s male colleagues were compensated significantly more than Plaintiff,
`
`approximately $35,000 to $50,000 per year more.
`
`15. Plaintiff has comparable if not superior qualifications than her male colleagues.
`
`16. On or about July 22, 2021, Plaintiff met with her immediate supervisor, Idan Ben-Arieh,
`
`regarding this pay discrepancy.
`
`17. Mr. Ben-Arieh informed Plaintiff that he likes to “start people lower” to see if they have
`
`the skills they seem to have on paper. Upon information and belief, this was not done for
`
`Plaintiff’s male colleagues, who started as Level 5 Staff Engineers.
`
`18. Defendant is in the middle of a planned merger with 1Life Healthcare, Inc.
`
`19. On August 3, 2021, Plaintiff met with Mr. Ben-Arieh and Clark Curtis from Human
`
`Resources. Plaintiff requested that her compensation be raised to match that of her similarly
`
`situated male colleagues. Mr. Curtis informed her that there was no way to honor this
`
`request given the position of the merger.
`
`20. At this time, Plaintiff is still not being compensated fairly in comparison to her similarly
`
`situated male colleagues.
`
`AS AND FOR A FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION
`AGAINST THE DEFENDANT
`Violation of the Equal Pay Act 29 U.S.C. § 201 et. seq.
`
`21. Plaintiff repeats and realleges all previous allegations set forth in Paragraphs 1 through 20.
`
`22. Defendant is an “employer” as defined by 29 U.S.C. § 203(d).
`
`23. Plaintiff is an employee of Defendant, engaged in commerce and/or is employed in an
`
`enterprise engaged in commerce.
`
`24. Plaintiff is female.
`
`
`
`3
`
`
`
`Case 6:21-cv-00973-LEK-ATB Document 1 Filed 08/30/21 Page 4 of 7
`
`25. Defendant has discriminated between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to
`
`employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which they pay wages to
`
`employees of the opposite sex.
`
`26. Plaintiff and her male colleagues perform equal work on jobs the performance of which
`
`requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility.
`
`27. Plaintiff and her male colleagues perform duties under similar working conditions.
`
`28. Such a differential is not based on a seniority system, a merit system, a quantity or quality
`
`of production system, or any other factor other than sex.
`
`29. Defendant caused, attempted to cause, contributed to, or caused the continuation of the
`
`wage rate discrimination based on sex in violation of the Equal Pay Act. Moreover,
`
`Defendant willfully violated the Equal Pay Act by intentionally paying Plaintiff less than
`
`similarly situated or less qualified male employees.
`
`30. As a direct and proximate result of the Defendant’s actions, Plaintiff has been damaged in
`
`an amount to be determined by a jury at the time of trial, including damages in the amount
`
`of that she was underpaid based on her gender, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees and
`
`costs.
`
`AS AND FOR A SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION
`AGAINST THE DEFENDANT
`Violation of NY Labor Law Chapter 31, Article 6, § 190 et seq.
`
`
`31. Plaintiff repeats and realleges all previous allegations set forth in Paragraphs 1 through 30.
`
`32. Defendant is an “Employer” as defined in NY Lab. Law § 190.
`
`33. Plaintiff is an employee of Defendant.
`
`34. Plaintiff is female.
`
`
`
`4
`
`
`
`Case 6:21-cv-00973-LEK-ATB Document 1 Filed 08/30/21 Page 5 of 7
`
`35. Defendant paid Plaintiff a wage at a rate less than the rate at which other employees outside
`
`of Plaintiff’s protected class was paid for equal work on a job the performance of which
`
`requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which is performed under similar
`
`working conditions.
`
`36. Defendant paid Plaintiff a wage at a rate less than the rate at which other employees outside
`
`of Plaintiff’s protected class was paid for substantially similar work, when viewed as a
`
`composite of skill, effort, and responsibility, and performed under similar working
`
`conditions.
`
`37. Such a differential is not based on a seniority system, a merit system, a quantity or quality
`
`of production system, or any other bona fide factor.
`
`38. Defendant caused, attempted to cause, contributed to, or caused the continuation of, the
`
`wage rate discrimination based on sex in violation of the New York Labor Law. Moreover,
`
`Defendant willfully violated the New York Labor Law by intentionally paying Plaintiff
`
`less than similarly situated or less qualified male employees.
`
`39. As a direct and proximate result of the Defendant’s actions, Plaintiff has been damaged in
`
`an amount to be determined by a jury at the time of trial, including damages in the amount
`
`of that she was underpaid based on her gender, liquidated damages, and attorneys’ fees and
`
`costs.
`
`AS AND FOR A THIRD CAUSE OF ACTION
` AGAINST THE DEFENDANT
`Violation of New York Executive Law § 290 et. seq.
`
`40. Plaintiff repeats and realleges all previous allegations set forth in Paragraphs 1 through 39.
`
`41. Defendant constitutes an “employer” as defined in N.Y. Exec. Law § 292.
`
`42. Plaintiff is an employee of Defendant.
`
`
`
`5
`
`
`
`Case 6:21-cv-00973-LEK-ATB Document 1 Filed 08/30/21 Page 6 of 7
`
`43. Plaintiff is female.
`
`44. Defendant subjected Plaintiff to discrimination in the terms, conditions, and privileges of
`
`employment in violation of the New York State Executive Law, including gender-based
`
`harassment and pay discrimination.
`
`45. Defendant have treated Plaintiff differently from and less preferably than male employees.
`
`46. Plaintiff’s sex has been a determining factor in Defendant’s subjecting of Plaintiff to
`
`discrimination in the terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.
`
`47. By reason of the continuous nature of Defendant’s discriminatory conduct, Plaintiff is
`
`entitled to the application of the continuing violation doctrine to the unlawful acts alleged
`
`herein.
`
`48. Defendant’s actions amount to willful or wanton negligence, and/or recklessness, and/or
`
`exhibit a conscious disregard for the rights of Plaintiff, and/or constitute conduct so
`
`reckless as to amount to such disregard. Accordingly, Plaintiff is entitled to punitive
`
`damages.
`
`49. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s unlawful conduct, Plaintiff has suffered
`
`and will continue to suffer harm, including but not limited to lost earnings, lost benefits,
`
`lost future employment opportunities, humiliation, embarrassment, reputational harm,
`
`emotional and physical distress, mental anguish, and other economic damages and non-
`
`economic damages.
`
`50. As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s unlawful conduct, Plaintiff is entitled to
`
`all remedies available for violations of the New York State Executive Law, including back
`
`pay, front pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, costs, and other
`
`appropriate relief.
`
`
`
`6
`
`
`
`Case 6:21-cv-00973-LEK-ATB Document 1 Filed 08/30/21 Page 7 of 7
`
`51. As a direct and proximate result of the Defendant’s actions, Plaintiff has been damaged in
`
`an amount to be determined by a jury at the time of trial.
`
`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
`
`
`
`WHEREFORE Plaintiff prays that this Court:
`
`A. Award Plaintiff all of her damages under applicable law, including back pay, front pay,
`
`compensatory damages, liquidated damages, and punitive damages;
`
`B. Award Plaintiff all attorneys' fees, costs, and expenses available under law;
`
`C. Award Plaintiff all pre-judgment interest and post-judgment interest available under law;
`
`and
`
`D. Award Plaintiff such additional and further relief as this Court may deem just and proper.
`
`JURY DEMAND
`Pursuant to the Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution and Rule 38 of the
`
`
`
`Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, trial by jury on all issues is demanded.
`
`Dated: August 30, 2021
`
`
`Albany, New York
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`Respectfully submitted,
`
`By her attorneys:
`
`
`Adam P. Grogan, Esq.
`Associate
`NDNY No. 703011
`TULLY RINCKEY PLLC
`441 New Karner Road
`Albany, NY 12205
`Tel. (518) 218-7100
`Fax. (518) 218-0496
`Email: agrogan@tullylegal.com
`Counsel for Plaintiff
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`7
`
`
Accessing this document will incur an additional charge of $.
After purchase, you can access this document again without charge.
Accept $ Charge
Still Working On It
This document is taking longer than usual to download. This can happen if we need to contact the court directly to obtain the document and their servers are running slowly.
Give it another minute or two to complete, and then try the refresh button.
A few More Minutes ... Still Working
It can take up to 5 minutes for us to download a document if the court servers are running slowly.
Thank you for your continued patience.
This document could not be displayed.
We could not find this document within its docket. Please go back to the docket page and check the link. If that does not work, go back to the docket and refresh it to pull the newest information.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
You need a Paid Account to view this document. Click here to change your account type.
Your account does not support viewing this document.
Set your membership
status to view this document.
With a Docket Alarm membership, you'll
get a whole lot more, including:
- Up-to-date information for this case.
- Email alerts whenever there is an update.
- Full text search for other cases.
- Get email alerts whenever a new case matches your search.
One Moment Please
The filing “” is large (MB) and is being downloaded.
Please refresh this page in a few minutes to see if the filing has been downloaded. The filing will also be emailed to you when the download completes.
Your document is on its way!
If you do not receive the document in five minutes, contact support at support@docketalarm.com.
Sealed Document
We are unable to display this document, it may be under a court ordered seal.
If you have proper credentials to access the file, you may proceed directly to the court's system using your government issued username and password.
Access Government Site
