News & Analysis as of

Harassment Slurs Employment Litigation

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Single Use of Racial Slur May Constitute Harassment

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Supreme Court ruled that an isolated, one-time, use of a racial slur may be so severe—when viewed in relation to the totality of the circumstances—as to alter the conditions of employment,...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Taos Hotel Formerly Known as Whitten Inn and its Successor Settle EEOC Race and National Origin Harassment Suit

Former Owner of Whitten Hotel Accused of Racist Behavior, Federal Agency Charges - ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Roark-Whitten Hospitality 2, LP, doing business as the Whitten Inn, and its successor purchaser of the hotel SGI, LLC,...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Racial Slur From Owner's Six-Year-Old Son is Evidence of Offensive Working Environment

​​​​​​​Over the past decade, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) has substantially lowered the bar for demonstrating racial harassment in cases where a racial...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

EEOC Announces Two Recent Settlements of Title VII Race Lawsuits

Poyner Spruill LLP on

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently announced two high-profile settlements of race claims – one for discrimination and one for harassment – that highlight the dangers of employers failing to protect...more

Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP

Key Takeaways for Employers from the $137 Million Race Harassment Verdict Against Tesla

On October 4, 2021, a federal jury in California awarded $136.9 million to a Black former Tesla subcontractor, Owen Diaz, after finding that Tesla subjected him to a racially hostile work environment. The jury awarded Diaz...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Tesla Hit With $137 Million Jury Verdict for Racially Charged Workplace

On October 4, a California federal jury awarded $137 million to a former contract employee who worked for Tesla. At trial, the plaintiff testified that he was repeatedly called the N-word while at work, regularly heard racial...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Driven Fence Agrees to Pay $25,000 to Settle EEOC Race Harassment Lawsuit

Fencing Company's Mistreatment of Black Employee, Including Racial Slurs and Noose Display, Forced Him to Quit, Federal Agency Charged - CHICAGO - A Melrose Park, Ill., fencing company will pay $25,000 and furnish other...more

Butler Snow LLP

'Go Back to Where You Came From': Employer Liability When Workers Say Xenophobic Things

Butler Snow LLP on

President Donald Trump’s recent Tweet suggesting that four Democratic congresswomen should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” has sparked robust debate across the country....more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

Employers’ Non-Action Resulted in $1.6 Million Awarded in Harassment Claim

A Los Angeles jury awarded a black former UCLA phlebotomist nearly $1.6 million in damages for being subjected to racial harassment by co-workers. Birden v. The Regents of the University of California, No. BC6681389 (Los...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Supervisor Overhearing Racist Remarks Makes Employer Potentially Liable for Harassment

Over the past decade federal courts have demonstrated a decreasing willingness to tolerate the use of racist language in the workplace. In repeated circumstances, courts have found even a single use of a racial slur...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Even Rhetorical Use of the "N-Word" Sufficient to Allow Racial Harassment Claim to Go to Jury

Over the past several years, we have reported an increasing number of federal appeals court decisions that have characterized even single instances of certain racial slurs as sufficient to constitute hostile environment...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

The “N-word,” the “Black Monkey Girl,” and the “Confident, African American Male”: Workplace Language and Hostile Environment...

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

It is one of the nightmare scenarios for any HR Department or in-house employment counsel: A white employee directing crude, vicious, racially charged slurs at an African-American employee. Perhaps the most inflammatory of...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Words Matter: The Third Circuit Clarifies That a Single Racial Slur in the Workplace May Be Enough to State a Hostile Work...

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: Telling African-American employees “that if they had ‘n—– rigged’ the fence, they would be fired” may be enough, standing alone, to state a hostile work environment claim....more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

JL Schwieters Construction to Pay $125,000 To Settle EEOC Race Harassment Lawsuit

Company Subjected Black Employees to Noose, Threats and Racial Slurs, Federal Agency Charged - MINNEAPOLIS - A Hugo, Minn., construction company will pay $125,000 to settle a racial harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S....more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Taylor Shellfish to Pay $160,000 To Settle EEOC Racial Harassment Suit

Black Mechanic Forced to Quit After Enduring Slurs, Stereotypes and Retaliation, Says Federal Agency - SEATTLE - The largest producer of farmed shellfish in the United States, Taylor Shellfish, will pay $160,000 and...more

Blank Rome LLP

Single Racial Slur May Be Sufficient to Establish Workplace Harassment

Blank Rome LLP on

Action Item: The Third Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a single isolated use of a racial slur may be sufficient to establish unlawful workplace harassment. Background and Analysis: On July 14, 2017, a...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Big 5 Sporting Goods Sued by EEOC for Racial Harassment

Black Employee Taunted with Racial Slurs and Death Threats, Federal Agency Charges - SEATTLE - One of the Western United States' largest sports retailers, Big 5 Sporting Goods, violated federal law when it allowed ongoing...more

Saul Ewing LLP

Third Circuit Reminds Employers That an Isolated Act of Harassment Can Land Them in Hot Water

Saul Ewing LLP on

In a decision issued July 14, 2017, the Third Circuit clarified that to prevail on workplace harassment claims, plaintiffs must show that the conduct was “severe or pervasive”—not “severe and pervasive” or “pervasive and...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Third Circuit Holds that A Single Word Can Lead to Liability for Hostile Work Environment

Most employers take proactive steps to prevent and eliminate workplace harassment. Until recently, courts recognized and rewarded the proactive approach. Businesses in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware could avoid...more

Littler

EEOC's Race Discrimination Suit Against Janitorial Company Includes Background Check Allegations

Littler on

The filing of a new discrimination lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) answers the question whether, after five years of intensive scrutiny, employers can breathe a sigh of relief in terms of...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

EEOC Sued Diversified Maintenance Systems for Race Discrimination and Retaliation

Tampa-Based Janitorial Service Provider Rejected African-Americans for Jobs and Punished Black Employee for Opposing Discrimination, Federal Agency Charges - BALTIMORE - Janitorial Service Provider Diversified Maintenance...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

With N Word, Once is Enough. Second Circuit Rules on Hostile Environment Case

Is a single incident enough for a hostile work environment claim? It is in the Second Circuit. In Daniel v. T&M Protection Resources, Inc., the court held that one racial epithet was sufficiently severe, by itself, to create...more

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Hiatt & Mason Enterprises to Pay $35,000 to Settle EEOC Racial Harassment Lawsuit

Black Employee Subjected to Racial Epithets Almost Daily, Federal Agency Charged - MOUNT AIRY, N.C. - Hiatt & Mason Enterprises, Inc., a structural steel erection services company, has agreed to pay $35,000 and provide...more

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