Yesterday’s parting shot advised employers — not legal advice, mind you — that well-documented termination decisions are much better than “take my word on it, we should just fire him.”
Let’s test that theory today. Continue reading
In yesterday’s blog post (and on LinkedIn), I asked you to adjudicate a white man’s discrimination claim. Continue reading
A white man who worked as a utility water meter reader sued his employer for racial discrimination after he was fired for inaccurately reporting homeowners’ water meters. Continue reading
In my many years of practicing employment law, I’ve seen hostile work environment accusations leveled against owners, supervisors, co-workers, subordinates, customers, vendors, and many others.
But accusing a young child of racial discrimination is a new one for me. Continue reading
You guys remember ‘Central Park Karen,’ right? Continue reading
Jerk employees are responsible for creating most of the hostile work environment claims I get hired to defend.
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Continue reading
I had planned to blog about this Fifth Circuit decision for a while. The appellate court concluded that a plaintiff who had pleaded that his supervisor directly called him a “Lazy Monkey A__ N___” in front of his fellow employees stated an actionable claim of hostile work environment.
But then I read this federal court decision from Illinois about a black man who claimed that his employer retaliated against him by creating a hostile work environment with a noose. Continue reading
As a lawyer, a mediator, a workplace investigator, and a blogger, I’ve seen my fair share of employees claiming that someone(s) subjected them to a “hostile work environment.”
But here’s the thing. Continue reading
What I’ve got for you today is another hostile work environment decision. But, unlike yesterday’s general civility code violation, well short of the pervasive or severe behavior that could interfere with an employee’s working conditions, today’s is a doozy. We’re talking about four instances of racial harassment: an offensive note, a noose, a written threat in the plaintiff’s locker, and then another noose.
And, yet, the plaintiff lost this case too. Continue reading
The Employer Handbook Blog