Employers don’t have crystal balls. Last week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the well-settled rule that when one coworker accuses another of creating a hostile work environment, that claim will fail ten times out of ten unless the employer knew or should have known about the harassment but…
An employer’s statements about a successful job candidate’s “minority status, the American Dream, and the value of diversity” were not enough to show that it discriminated against an unsuccessful white candidate, ruled a New Jersey federal court recently. The case involved two police officers who were interviewing to become the…
A recent Eleventh Circuit decision serves as a sobering reminder to employers why a plausible claim — a mere inference of bias – is all it takes for a plaintiff to pursue discrimination claims. The plaintiff is a white guy in his late 50s. In a complaint he filed in…
I’ll go ahead and file this one under: “Ya think?” But perhaps I’m getting out over my skis. So, let’s see what you think. The employee was a bank teller who filed a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against her employer. She later resigned, claiming…
Yesterday’s post discussed how direct evidence “proves impermissible discriminatory bias without additional inference or presumption,” i.e., the proverbial smoking gun. But smoking gun evidence in discrimination cases is rare. Employers aren’t out there telling employees that their race will cost them their jobs. Well, most employers, that is. Last night, I…
They lost. We’ll get to why in a bit. First, I’ll provide some context. During the plaintiffs’ employment, the defendant received complaints that they were (1) regularly engaging in sexually derogatory commentary, (2) discussing drug use, (3) speaking derogatorily about a transgender employee, and (4) sometimes speaking in a homophobic…
Yesterday, we discussed unconscious bias training in the workplace. Today, we’ll talk about an employer that may need some if the allegations in a recently filed complaint against it are true. According to the complaint filed in Michigan state court earlier this month, a 27-year-old African-American man from Detroit applied…
A federal appellate court recently breathed new life into the discrimination claims of a tanker driver alleging that his race motivated his employer to terminate his employment for it deemed reckless driving. His evidence? His employer had treated him differently than other tanker drivers who engaged in conduct that was…
A single incident, like a supervisor calling a black employee the “n” word, may be enough to create a hostile work environment. But what if the victim doesn’t witness it? For example, in a recent federal court decision, the plaintiff, a black man, testified in his deposition that his supervisor…
An employer recently learned the hard way that a proper response to an employee’s complaint of harassment involves more than simply investigating it. I’ll explain. Last night, I read a recent decision from a Pennsylvania federal judge. The plaintiff, an Asian American, testified at his deposition that his supervisor often…