Courts have, time and again, pointed out the obnoxious and extreme sting that the “N-word” possesses. The word is powerfully damaging, even when used in ways clearly intended not to be demeaning. When that word comes from a workplace supervisor, it can be enough to establish critical legal claims, such as a hostile work environment. If you encountered a manager who spoke in this manner, you should talk to a New York race discrimination lawyer about your options.
A race discrimination case from Queens is a clear example of the unique severity that word holds, both in society and in discrimination lawsuits.
The employee, M.C., worked as a sales assistant at the Astoria branch of a multi-state mortgage lender. Several months into M.C.’s employment, his supervisor began referring to two employees by derogatory nicknames. The supervisor called M.C.’s Jewish colleague “Jew Boy,” among other things. The supervisor called M.C., who was African-American, “My [N-word].” Several coworkers followed suit, using the nicknames.
Both men understood that the supervisor intended the nicknames as humor and an attempt to infuse the workplace with levity, but M.C., quite reasonably, did not find them amusing. Finally, after about two weeks, M.C. stood up from his desk and told his colleagues that the N-word nickname was “not funny.” The team laughed, but also discontinued using the nickname.
About eight months later, the supervisor terminated the assistant, purportedly for poor attendance and low production.
Following his termination, M.C. filed a discrimination lawsuit alleging age discrimination, retaliation, race discrimination, and a hostile work environment.
The assistant’s allegations were sparse, and the court granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment on M.C.’s retaliation and age discrimination claims.
M.C.’s race discrimination and hostile work environment claims, however, had enough to warrant denial of the employer’s motion for summary judgment. In deciding that the assistant had sufficient grounds to bring these claims before a jury, the court noted the particular egregiousness of the nickname in the man’s case.
Federal Title VII says that, to demonstrate a hostile work environment, a worker must show a workplace “permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult ... that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victim’s employment and create an abusive working environment.” That requires demonstrating that the name-calling was “(1) objectively severe or pervasive – that is, ... creates an environment that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive; (2) creates an environment that the plaintiff subjectively perceives as hostile or abusive; and (3) creates such an environment because of the plaintiff’s protected characteristics.”
No Slur More Demeaning
Although the name-calling in M.C.’s case lasted for only two weeks, that was enough -- because of the N-word. As the court stated, “There is no opprobrium more demeaning when used by a white manager in the workplace towards a black employee than the ‘n’ word.” The court also pointed out that, while use of a racial epithet in general is not automatically enough to establish a racially hostile work environment, instances where the user of the slur was a supervisor are almost always sufficient.
As the court explained, it did not matter that the manager meant the nickname “as a badly misplaced effort to establish camaraderie,” and not a straightforward attempt to demean M.C. Regardless, a reasonable jury could decide that enduring that word for two weeks -- from the mouth of his direct supervisor (among others) -- was a sufficiently “steady barrage” and not just a few, isolated incidents.
Courts have consistently recognized that the “N-word” holds a unique place in New York workplaces in that its use is particularly demeaning, especially when a white supervisor uses it toward an African American subordinate. This singularity is significant in many ways, including legal ones. A case involving the N-word can be deemed more severe or egregious than other cases involving other slurs with otherwise similar facts. If you have experienced this kind of offensive behavior from your manager, the experienced New York City race discrimination attorneys at Phillips & Associates PLLC are here to help. No worker should have to endure this kind of workplace misconduct, and if they do, our team is here to help them get justice and hold the responsible parties accountable. To find out more, contact us online or at (866) 229-9441 to set up a free and confidential consultation today.