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The Employer Handbook Blog‘Central Park Karen’ believes its racist to call someone racist. A federal judge disagreed and dismissed her lawsuit.
You guys remember ‘Central Park Karen,’ right? Continue reading
Articles Posted in Race
The customer isn’t always right — especially when they are OUTRIGHT RACIST!!!
Jerk employees are responsible for creating most of the hostile work environment claims I get hired to defend.
Hostile work environment claims are often like trees falling in the forest
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Continue reading
One use of the n-word can create a hostile work environment. The OTHER n-word.
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
Hostility at work is not necessarily a “hostile work environment.”
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
The law doesn’t require a perfect response to harassment complaints. It just needs to be good enough.
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
Lawyers and HR professionals weigh in on Josh Donaldson’s ‘Jackie’ comment. So does Major League Baseball.
On Monday, I blogged about a weekend incident in which New York Yankees third baseman Josh Donaldson and White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson in which Mr. Anderson claimed that Mr. Donaldson referred to him as “Jackie,” a reference to Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson. Continue reading
What should Major League Baseball do about a white baseball player calling a black player ‘Jackie’ [Robinson]?
During the third inning of Saturday’s game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees, Yankees’ third baseman Josh Donaldson and White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson had to be separated after an exchange of words (and some earlier in the game) in which Mr. Anderson claimed that Mr. Donaldson referred to him as “Jackie,” a reference to Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.
When do N-words and sex jokes NOT create a hostile work environment?
Hopefully, this question doesn’t have you clutching your pearls. Continue reading
A bill to end hair discrimination takes another step towards becoming federal law.
On Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to prohibit discrimination based on an individual’s texture or style of hair with a vote of 235-189. Continue reading