Race Discrimination

Unfortunately race discrimination in the work place continues to exist well into the 21st Century despite efforts to improve the working conditions for all employees. In order to help get rid of racism in the workplace, lawmakers enacted federal labor laws, including Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to rid the workplace from…

An African American was allowed to continue her race discrimination lawsuit, which also included claims of harassment and retaliation based on a legal theory called “cat’s paw”. The cat’s paw theory includes those situations where a co-worker, supervisor or other employee influences or a boss to fire someone or take other negative employment actions against…

One question that comes up a lot in race discrimination cases is “Can I file a lawsuit against my employer for discriminatory actions of a co-worker?” For example, sometime a supervisor or other co-worker may file a complaint against you or harass you just because of your skin color, your religion or your sex. In…

Although what constitutes actions that are “enough” to show racial harassment isn’t set is stone – case law provides some guidance. In some situations the harassment is obvious – such as a noose in the workplace. Other times case law finds racial discrimination exists because of subtle practices that tend to screen out minority applicants…

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits employers from discriminating against their employees “because of” their race or color. This means that an employer may not take your race or color into consideration when making employment decisions, and taking an “adverse action” because of your race may be a violation of federal employment discrimination laws.…

A recent racial harassment case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, Vance v. Ball State University, raises a significant question, “Who is a supervisor?” Determining whether a someone at work is a supervisor or not has serious consequences in terms of liability. In many instances, if a co-worker is also considered “a supervisor,” then an employer may be…

Hiring requirements – such as English only rules, passing a test or living in a certain area- may be considered racial discrimination depending on the circumstances. In a recent case, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals determined that a Regional Fire and Rescue squad that had a rule stating that only residents could be hired as…

In a recent 11th Circuit Court of Appeals opinion, Mitten v. Lockheed – Martin Aeronautics, the Appellate Court determined that an employee may bring a claim for relief where sufficient circumstantial evidence exists of racial discrimination. It is not necessary to show that another person in the same job position was treated more favorably in order to…

A janitorial company that provides services to O’hare International Airport has agreed to pay $3 million to rejected black applicants. At issue – a June 2009 lawsuit asserting race discrimination as a result of the company’s failure to hire or recruit black applicants for janitorial jobs. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination against employees on the…

Despite significant advances, race discrimination continues to be a problem at many workplaces. A recent case has determined that an employee who suffered verbal assaults such as being called the “n word” by his boss can proceed with his claim for a hostile work environment. In Taylor v. Bob-Rohr-Indy Motors, an African American car salesman – Johnny Taylor…