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
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
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.
Hopefully, this question doesn’t have you clutching your pearls. Continue reading
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
It wasn’t long ago that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission noticed a spike in reports of mistreatment and harassment of Asian Americans and other people of Asian descent during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading
A plaintiff asserting a retaliation claim against his employer must establish three elements:
Opertinicy at en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Yesterday, in this video about the Brian Flores race discrimination lawsuit against the National Football League, Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, and New York Giants, my partner and I talked about whether the complaint pled enough facts to withstand a motion to dismiss.
Of the race discrimination claims against the three football teams, we concluded that the one against the NY Giants seemed the strongest (relatively). Last night, the NY Giants responded — to Mr. Flores, not my partner and me — with a statement explaining why they believe that Mr. Flores’s claims against the team have no merit.
Let’s take a look.
Tennessee Titans, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
On February 1, 2022, the first day of Black History Month, Brian Flores filed a bombshell class-action lawsuit in federal court. Continue reading
Image Credit: Wig by Daniela Baptista from the Noun Project
In recent years, some states and municipalities have made it unlawful to discriminate based on an individual’s hairstyle because certain protected classes — usually Black women — receive unfair treatment based on inherent hair texture and protective hairstyles, like braids, locs, and twists. Why, yesterday, Tempe became the second city in Arizona to pass a hair discrimination ban.
There’s nothing explicit under federal antidiscrimination law, like Title VII, that outlaws hair discrimination. But, that hasn’t stopped the EEOC from pursuing related claims for race discrimination. Continue reading
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