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Race Discrimination Employment Litigation Slurs

Lathrop GPM

Virginia Federal Court Dismisses Franchise Employee’s Discrimination Claims Against McDonald’s

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A federal court in Virginia recently granted McDonald’s USA, LLC’s motion to dismiss a former franchise employee’s Title VII and Virginia Human Rights Act claims. Edmonds v. McDonald’s USA, LLC, 2025 WL 1066193 (W.D. Va. Apr....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Single Use of Racial Slur May Constitute Harassment

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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

Genova Burns LLC

To Click or Not to Click: NJ Appellate Division Reaffirms Enforceability of Electronic Arbitration Agreements

Genova Burns LLC on

On March 7, 2023, in Dakota Powell vs. Prime Comms Retail LLC, the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled that a former employee must arbitrate her claims of race discrimination, rather than pursue them in court due to her...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

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Fifth Circuit Finds Specific Allegation of One-Time Use of Racial Slur Sufficient to Preclude Dismissal Under Rule 12(b)(6)

On March 24, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a district court’s Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) dismissal for failure to state a claim on a pro se plaintiff’s hostile work environment...more

Fisher Phillips

What’s In a Word? Maybe a Lawsuit

Fisher Phillips on

A single word may be enough to land your dealership at the receiving end of a lawsuit – maybe even a jury trial. Especially, as an Illinois dealership recently learned, if that word is the most egregious racial epithet in the...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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Title VII Does Not Require Termination of Co-Worker for Racist Joke

In recent years, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) has substantially lowered the legal bar for plaintiffs to demonstrate a hostile work environment based on...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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Finds Two Race Discrimination Claims Failed to Allege Sufficiently Hostile Work Conditions

In recent years, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina and South Carolina) has lowered the bar for plaintiffs to take racial harassment claims to a jury trial when the alleged conduct involved use...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...

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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

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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

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...

Rosebud Restaurants to Pay $1.9 Million to Settle EEOC Race Discrimination Suit

Federal Agency Alleged Italian Restaurant Group Refused to Hire African-American Applicants - CHICAGO -- Rosebud Restaurants, Inc. will pay $1.9 million and furnish other relief to settle a class race discrimination...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

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