Tag: Racial Harassment

Employee Fails to Connect Racial Acts to Adverse Action

A factory worker sued her employer, alleging the company discriminated against her based on her race by allowing a hostile work environment to pervade its manufacturing plant. She also claimed it retaliated against her for accusing a coworker of tampering with her machine. Let’s take a look at how the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of […]

Case Study: Employee Fails to Connect Racial Acts to Adverse Action

A factory worker sued her employer, alleging the company discriminated against her based on her race by allowing a hostile work environment to pervade its manufacturing plant. She also claimed it retaliated against her for accusing a coworker of tampering with her machine. Let’s take a look at how the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of […]

Be careful what you say: Employee’s name-calling lands him in hot water

by Franck G. Wobst An Ohio Court of Appeals recently ruled that a city’s civil service commission acted within its rights when it suspended a city employee for 45 days for jokingly calling an African-American coworker “Black Buck” and “Big Black Buck.” Facts James Hoover worked at the city of Elyria’s water pumping plant as […]

Pizza discrimination?! Customer sues Florida Domino’s for employees’ alleged bias

by G. Thomas Harper A pregnant Moroccan Muslim woman has sued a Domino’s Pizza franchisee in Davenport over the quality of pizza and treatment she received from employees of the restaurant. The customer brought suit in state court in Polk County against the franchisee, Michael P. Jarvis, both as an individual and as the owner […]

Judge to NLRB: time to stop protecting racist, sexist conduct

by Bart N. Sisk A federal judge recently called out the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for its history of taking a “cavalier and enabling” approach toward the “sexually and racially demeaning misconduct of some employees during strikes.” Let’s take a closer look at the case.  Judge appalled that NLRB gives ‘refuge’ to intolerable conduct […]

Employers haunted by Halloween

Happy Halloween! We hope you are getting only treats today and no tricks. But in keeping with the holiday spirit, today’s post highlights some unintended tricks employers may face from Halloween.    Many employers will have already hosted a Halloween office party or allowed employees to dress up today to celebrate, but the Halloween festivities, whether […]

Rude isn’t racist: Supervisor’s alleged poor treatment doesn’t amount to discrimination

by Carrie Pond A Kentucky federal court recently dismissed a claim of hostile work environment racial harassment because the employee failed to show the harassment was race-based. Despite allegations that, if believed, demonstrated the employee’s supervisor “treated [her] very badly,” she failed to establish that the treatment was racially motivated.   Facts Marilyn Harris, who is […]

Sex Sells (OK, No It Doesn’t)

Litigation Value: $250,000 for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent hiring, and negligent entrustment. Well, folks, the quintessential horndog — Michael Scott — is back on the stick. And this week, he didn’t disappoint. Michael’s recent announcement that this may be his final year sitting in the boss chair makes us wonder who will replace him; as […]