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The Employer Handbook Blog1 crotch grab + 1 N-word + 1 threat + 4 sex slurs = 0 hostile work environments
You won’t find this one on the SAT’s. Continue reading
Articles Posted in Race
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 check your Facebook and Twitter feeds — Ms. Dolezal planned to address the issue at a monthly meeting tonight. However, the Spokane Chapter announced on its Facebook page that the meeting would be postponed “to continue discussion with regional and national NAACP leaders.”
Now, what if this discussion consummated in firing Ms. Dolezal? Would that be legal? Continue reading
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 compel an Administrative Law Judge to require that the company reinstate him? Continue reading
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 of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that two aggressive racial slurs made to an employee within a 24-hour period, may create a hostile work environment. (Here, the plaintiff, who is African-American, was twice called a “porch monkey.” And, each time, the harasser threatened the plaintiff).
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 of racism
- Investigation ensues
- White employee is forced to resign
…as it is about making sure that all involved know why an employee is being fired, and can articulate those reasons consistently. Continue reading
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 that some of my readers took issue with my analysis of the case.
Well, I see your comments and raise you a scathing Justice Alito dissent from the United States Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari:
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…
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The one thing HR can’t afford to do if an employee reports a noose
One employer appears to have screwed up royally. Click through to find out how.
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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 installed mean nothing unless you respond to that complaint appropriately.
See how one company did it right, after the jump…
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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…
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