Nooses in the workplace are especially severe and vile. That is because nooses inherently call to mind one element of this country’s history of racial violence; namely, the lynching of Black people. Whether or not it involves a noose, any comment that evokes the image of Black people hanging from trees is inappropriate for the workplace and can be the basis for establishing severe harassment in violation of federal, state, and city law. If you have experienced racial harassment at your job, you should take action. That should start with reaching out to an experienced New York racial discrimination lawyer.
A recent discrimination case from Manhattan illustrates how comments that evoke images of lynching can constitute severe harassment based on race.
C.C. was a Black woman originally from Haiti who worked as a sales associate in the men’s fragrances department at the Macy’s store in Herald Square. In January 2020, the associate lodged a complaint. The associate complained that a coworker, O.A., made disparaging comments about Black people, including that “Black people are lazy, do not belong, and complain a lot.”
The associate’s alleged problems extended beyond O.A. After the associate returned from a COVID-19 furlough, another coworker, O.I., once interrupted a transaction between C.C. and a customer, declaring, “she don’t know any better, she’s Haitian,” according to the woman’s lawsuit.
Perhaps most problematically, O.I. allegedly made multiple references to hanging Black coworkers from trees. According to the lawsuit, O.I., in the presence of C.C., “threatened another black employee by saying if she did not take a certain retirement package, he would ‘hang her from a tree and beat her.’” O.I. later allegedly asked C.C., “Are you going to hang me from a tree and beat me?”
This was enough to give the associate a viable claim for a hostile work environment, even under the demanding criteria of federal law. (Federal law requires that the harassment an employee alleges must be “severe or pervasive” to have a viable hostile work environment claim.)
The court determined that the conduct the associate alleged was not pervasive (as the incidents were relatively few and a substantial time gap separated the issues with O.A. and O.I.). However, the court said that, if a jury believed the associate’s allegations about O.I., that conduct alone was enough to meet the “severe” prong and to create an “objectively hostile work environment based on Plaintiff’s race and national origin.”
First, the court took note of O.I.’s multiple alleged disparaging comments about the associate’s Haitian nationality, like “she don’t know any better, she’s Haitian.” The court further determined that O.I.’s alleged multiple comments about hanging Black people from trees “evoke[d] the extreme, racist brutality of lynching.” Having made the connection between O.I.’s comments and lynching, the court further added that courts “have routinely relied on particularly egregious remarks with allusions to historical brutality, like the hanging from a tree comment, in finding an objectively hostile work environment.”
No person of color should have to go to work and face images of nooses or comments about Black people “hanging from trees.” Too often, however, that is the reality for too many New York workers. If you have experienced racial harassment and discrimination at work, you owe it to yourself to fight back. That starts with putting the right legal team in your corner. The knowledgeable New York race discrimination attorneys at Phillips & Associates, PLLC are ready to be that advocate for you. Our experienced litigators can provide you with reliable advice and strategies, as well as zealous advocacy to protect your rights. To find out more, contact us online or call (866) 229-9441 to set up a free and confidential consultation today.