It has been a tough couple of weeks, at least regarding employment law, for New York celebrities.  A federal jury has ordered the owners of the New York Knicks professional basketball team to pay $11.6 million to a former team marketing executive who alleges she was sexually harassed by, and retaliated against for complaining about, Knicks president/coach and former Detroit Pistons NBA star Isiah Thomas.  The jury agreed with the plaintiff’s allegations that Thomas called the woman degrading and insulting names but later proposed a romantic liaison to her.  Part of the evidence used against the Knicks was the fact of a player’s affair with a team intern, used to show that the team had a “frat house” mentality rather than that of a professional work environment.  In other New York news, other women in New York have sued the company owned by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, alleging he “fostered, condoned and perpetuated” discrimination against female employees.  The plaintiffs allege that females, notably pregnant women, were denied employment opportunities at the Mayor’s company.  Bloomberg also was sued for pregnancy bias and sexual harassment in 1997, a case that was later settled.