Although sexual harassment gets the most press, it’s just as illegal for an employer to harass, or allow the harassment of, an employee due to the person’s race, color, nationality, religion or other protected bases. Generally the more frequent and heated the slurs, the easier it is to show harassment occurred. But depending on the circumstances a single slur, if bad enough, may be the basis of a lawsuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (which covers appeals from federal courts in New York, Connecticut and Vermont) in a racial harassment case stated that a single incident may be enough to state a claim for a discriminatory hostile work environment. The court also stated that when deciding if illegal harassment occurred a court needs to look at apparently neutral incidents which may be relevant.

In the case of Daniel v. T&M Protection Resources, Inc., the plaintiff claimed that his supervisor discriminated against him because of his race, sex and national origin. The district court dismissed his racial harassment claim, which was based on the plaintiff’s supervisor calling him a “f***ing n*****.” The appeals court stated that was improper because, based on the facts of the case, one such remark may be enough and the lower court should’ve also considered another incident involving the plaintiff and his supervisor. The case was sent back to the trial court.

The appeals court wrote that,

• To show a hostile work environment claim, the employee must establish that the workplace was “permeated with discriminatory intimidation that was sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of his or her work environment,” and that there’s a specific basis for blaming the conduct creating the hostile environment on the employer.
• “Isolated” incidents normally aren’t enough to show a hostile work environment, though a single episode of harassment can establish a hostile work environment if the incident is sufficiently severe.
• The court pointed to an earlier case it decided where it stated that “perhaps no single act can more quickly alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment than the use of an unambiguously racial epithet such as ‘nigger’ by a supervisor in the presence of his subordinates.”

The appeals court also wrote that the district court also made a mistake when it failed to consider an alleged incident of harassment in which no racist language was used. The court stated,

• A plaintiff may rely on “facially neutral conduct” to support a harassment claim if “the same individual engaged in multiple acts of harassment, some overtly [based on a protected characteristic] and some not.”
• Plaintiff’s supervisor asked him if he stole a computer, which when combined with the supervisor’s overtly racist remark, shouldn’t have been ignored by the district court because there was some basis in the evidence to infer a connection between this “neutral” incident and hostility based on plaintiff’s race.

Courts don’t want to get involved in employment situations that can be seen as minor or based on issues that don’t involve violations of the law. To bolster the strength of a harassment case the greater the number and the more severe the incidents and remarks the better, though if severe enough a single incident or remark may be enough to show illegal actions by the employer.

If you believe you have been illegally harassed at work call an experienced employment law attorney for workers. At the law offices of Hanan M. Isaacs, P.C., we offer compassionate counsel and tough advocacy.  Call 609-683-7400 or contact us online to make a near-term reduced fee initial consultation in our Central Jersey offices in Kingston.  We will listen to your facts, explain the law, and suggest pathways to civil and economic justice that are just right for you.  Call today.  You will be glad you did.