If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it’s probably a duck. Hold that thought while I tell you about someone who probably wouldn’t believe me. The plaintiff in the federal court decision I read last night had worked for the same employer…
Articles Posted in Race
Why was talk of confederate flags and cursing the President not “extreme” enough to be a hostile work environment?
How some of her coworkers spoke at work deeply offended a hospital nurse. One of them said that “Michelle Obama looks like a monkey” and the “President is a piece of s**t.” Another said President Obama was “stupid,” was the “worst president ever,” and “needs to go back to Africa.”…
In some places, federal antidiscrimination laws are much broader than you may realize
Last night, I read about a black female educator and school administrator who claimed that her employer agreed to pay for her to attend a training session but later reneged, instead offering to pay for her to attend in two years. So, she paid for it herself. And then she…
Did you know that a bird — a macaw, specifically — can create a hostile work environment?
Last year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a long-term care facility claiming that certain White patients/residents repeatedly directed offensive racial slurs at black nurses and nurse assistants, including “n—-r,” “coon,” “monkey,” and “Black b—–s.” One patient repeatedly told Black employees to “go back to Africa,” followed Black employees…
Law student BLAMES ISRAEL for Hamas terrorism. Law firm promptly RESCINDS student’s JOB OFFER.
According to published reports, like this one from the Daily Mail, an Am Law 100 law firm rescinded a job offer to the president of a law school’s student bar association after learning that the student stated that Hamas’ slaughter of children in Israel was ‘necessary.’ The student also reportedly…
Talent acquisition specialist fired after video surfaces of her xenophobic rant on a train
According to reports, a pharmaceutical company fired one of its senior talent acquisition specialists last week after she appeared in a viral video on a New Jersey Transit train calling a small group of German men “f—ing immigrants and telling them to “get the f— out of our country.” An…
How does a convicted drug-dealing felon get a trial on his failure-to-hire discrimination claim?
The same drug dealing felon Human Resources claimed said in his job interview that he would “do it all again” but ensure that he was not dealing with an undercover officer. I won’t bury the lede here. This will be a lesson in consistency. If your business takes a legitimate,…
An accused sexual harasser thought he had smoking-gun evidence of race discrimination. As it turns out, however…
…the plaintiff missed the mark. Badly. On the plus side, I get a blog post out of it. Direct vs. Circumstantial Evidence When employees lose their jobs and claim discrimination, there are two types of evidence they can use to prove their case: direct and circumstantial. Direct evidence of discrimination…
How do judges resolve “he-said/she-said” in discrimination cases?
TL;DR: They don’t. Here’s a longer explanation. There comes a time in most discrimination lawsuits when a defendant-employer will file a motion for summary judgment. By filing that motion, the movant is telling the court that there are no material facts in dispute and, if the court applies the well-settled…
Could two little resumé errors torpedo an employee’s claims that her race got her fired?
In 2016, a public employer sought a new Health Commissioner. They thought they had found the ideal candidate. Her resumé stated that she held a master’s degree in Public Health and had experience as a licensed sanitation. The candidate nailed the interview. Ultimately, the employer hired her for the Health…