The scenario: A female staffer of Mexican descent claimed that she faced a barrage of negative comments based on her national origin. For instance, she alleged that coworkers referred to her as “negra” and the “department slave.”
She also said other staffers uttered offensive statements based on stereotypes about Mexicans. Her colleagues told her that she drove her father’s pickup truck to work because she was there to pick up scrap metal. They also said she liked to do the dirty work like the Mexicans laboring in the kitchen, and that she was probably more comfortable in the kitchen than in her office.
Other employees suggested that the staffer had a tunnel in the basement of the building, similar to the tunnel used by the Mexican drug lord El Chapo when he escaped from prison.
The woman complained about the biased comments, but she was ignored.
A short time later, the staffer was fired, allegedly because she committed timecard fraud. However, when confronted with the accusation, the woman noted that non-Mexican workers who were also guilty of timecard fraud weren’t fired.
Legal challenge: The Mexican woman sued for discrimination based on her national origin.
The ruling: The employer lost. The court said the lawsuit could proceed, pointing to the failure of managers to respond to the woman’s claims of a hostile workplace. The judge also noted that the worker had evidence she was treated less favorably than non-Mexican workers who were also guilty of timecard fraud.
The skinny: Supervisors who ignore a crew member’s complaints of offensive comments based on national origin are risking a costly discrimination lawsuit.
Cite: Morales v. NorthShore University HealthSystem, U.S. District Court, N.D. Illinois, No. 20C2175, 2/2/22.
(From the Feb. 18, 2022, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)