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Articles Posted in Race

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Can the NAACP legally fire Rachel Dolezal? Here’s an employment lawyer’s take.

Late last week, Rachel Dolezal, the President of the Spokane Chapter of the NAACP and a leader in the black community, was outed by her parents as being white. The controversy caught a lot of people by surprise, most notably, the Spokane Chapter. Amidst a flurry of activity over the weekend — just…

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Company ordered to re-hire an employee after his “racist, offensive, and reprehensible” speech.

An employee was caught on video saying to black employees, “Hey, did you bring enough KFC for everyone?” and “Hey, anybody smell that? I smell fried chicken and watermelon.” The company had a strict anti-harassment policy. So, after learning about the comments, the company fired the employee. So, what would…

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How 2 racial slurs in 24 hours can create a hostile work environment

Last year, I channelled Bill Clinton in this blog post about how courts rarely recognize a single incident or two as creating what the law deems a hostile work environment. Yeah, about that. Even a few isolated comments can create a hostile work environment. In Boyer-Liberto v. Fontainebleu Corp. (opinion here), the full panel…

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A white employee tossed banana peels at work, and HE claims discrimination. He might WIN too.

Where do I find these cases, you ask? Well, I sold my soul, and a stack of Billy Ripken baseball cards, to the devil a long time ago. I ain’t telling. But seriously, this case isn’t so much about the particular facts… White employee tosses banana peels at work Black employees complain…

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I was right. This appellate court employment-law decision was one of the worst of 2014.

About a year ago, I blogged here about a dreadful Sixth Circuit opinion, in which the court concluded that the plaintiff may have a discrimination claim for receiving the specific transfer he requested (after having interviewed for the position). Now, if you read the comments on my post, you’ll see…

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The employer who wanted to “bring color” into the workplace; brought lot$a green to the plaintiff instead

I’m talking about a $620,000 jury verdict and nearly $165,000 in attorney’s fees. Let’s discuss reverse-race discrimination after the jump… * * * Let’s get one thing clear. Anyone can be a victim of discrimination. And when it comes to race, we’re talking black, white, brown, whatever. Case in point,…

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How swift response to racial slurs and graffiti defused a discrimination claim

You have an employee handbook, an anti-harassment policy, training, the whole nine. But, sometimes, notwithstanding your best efforts to create a positive, respectful workplace, you receive a complaint from an employee who claims to be the victim of harassment based on [insert protected class]. All the prophylactic measures you’ve already…

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Inappropriate Facebook videos, comments doom an employee’s discrimination claims

On the clock or off, when employees do dumb stuff on Facebook, it could cost them their jobs. And, apparently, their discrimination claims against their former employer too. Yep, another employee screwed up online. Go figure. More on that after the jump… * * * In Brown v. Tyson Foods,…