Race Discrimination in Raleigh
Fighting Back Against Racial Discrimination At Work
Although we would like to believe otherwise, recent news makes it clear that racism and race discrimination is still a large problem in our society. If large company CEOs are now admitting to making racist comments and basing employment decisions on race, you can be sure that such conduct is still going on in a large number of smaller businesses, companies, and organizations by managers, supervisors, owners, and bosses. A top example of racial harassment, a Court of Appeals in Ayissi-Etoh v. Fannie Mae, et al. dealt with a situation where a Caucasian boss told an African-American to “get out of my office nigger.” The Appeals Court held that a hostile work environment can be created based upon the single use of the “N-word,” a racial epithet that the Court held was “deeply offensive,” and, that “no single act can more quickly alter the conditions of employment” than “the use of an unambiguously racial epithet such as ‘nigger’ by a supervisor.” Unfortunately, this type of brazen racism by racists bosses, managers, and supervisors is still commonplace.
Fortunately, the race discrimination attorneys at Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, are here to represent employees who have been discriminated against on the basis of race and color, in violation of Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866; and under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Upholding Protections For All Employees
Under these laws, an employee cannot be harassed by on race or denied equal employment opportunity because of that employee’s racial group or perceived racial group, race-linked characteristics (hair texture, color, facial features), or marriage to or association with someone of a particular race, ethnicity or color. Federal and North Carolina race discrimination laws further prohibit employers from making decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits or the performance of certain racial or ethnic groups. This includes decisions to hire, promote, demote, assign account or jobs, and especially fire. These laws apply regardless of whether the discrimination is directed at African-Americans, Caucasians, Asians, Latinos, Arabs, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, multi-racial individuals, or persons of any other race, ethnicity or color.
There are generally two basic types of race, ethnicity and color discrimination claims: (1) disparate-treatment discrimination is when race is a motivating factor in how an employer treats individual employees; and (2) disparate-impact discrimination is when an employer’s purported neutral policy or practice has a significant negative impact at least one racial groups, and the policy or practice is either not job-related and consistent with a business necessity, or there is a less discriminatory alternative that the employer has refused to adopt it.
Race discrimination also occurs when work is assigned based on race. Unfortunately, employers still do segregate employees or assign particular jobs based on race. Our Raleigh race discrimination attorneys have dealt with employers that only hired African Americans to be dishwashers because it was a Black job; and bosses that would not allow Blacks to be waiters or maître d’ at high scale restaurants. Segregation occurs where African-American salespeople are assigned to “Black Ghettos” while Caucasian salespeople are assigned to affluent White neighborhoods.
Unfortunately, our race discrimination lawyers have seen racial classifications are used by the employer on applications or interview forms either overtly or by designated code. For example, our employment discrimination attorneys have seen employers “slyly” use such codes as chocolate and vanilla, BM (for black mama), GP (for ghetto person) as well as “cookie” and “cream.”
Recognizing Racial Harassment
In addition to race discrimination, racial harassment is also illegal. Racial harassment is defined by law as unwelcome conduct that unreasonably interferes with an employee’s ability to work. Racial harassment can also occur when a company allows or creates a hostile, offensive, or intimidating workplace. In this regard, race harassment may include race-based insults, jokes, slurs, epithets, mockery, objects, and/or pictures, that disrupt work performance. Your employer will be directly liable for the racially harassing conduct of supervisors, managers, and bosses; and may be liable if does not stop such conduct from coworkers and even non-employees customers or patron over whom the employer has some control – like asking a restaurant patron to leave for racially harassing language or actions.
Although racial discrimination takes many forms, you should immediately call Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, if you find yourself saying or searching the internet for the following:
- I was fired today after I reported that my boss is a racist.
- I was not promoted because I’m Black, even though I have more experience, higher test results, and better interview scores than the White person who got the job.
- My boss keeps calling me Ghetto trash, blackie, nigger, boy, spade, Buck Wheat, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Tom, coon, n-lover and other racially offensive names.
- My manager would not do anything after I reported that coworkers were hanging nooses in my locker and making KKK jokes.
- I was fired when my supervisor found out that I was dating a Black guy.
- My boss regularly tells racial jokes about protecting your wallet because the black guy is coming; jokes about being paid bonuses in watermelons; and crude jokes about why White women date Black men.
- As a Black woman, I am paid less than white workers in the same position.
- As an African American man, I was fired for doing the same thing as White employees.
- My company got rid of mostly all the Black workers during a layoff but kept most of the White employees.
- There are no African American managers at my job and I just got passed over for a promotion by a less qualified Caucasian.
- My supervisor makes all the Black laborers do all the heavy lifting and dirty work while the White workers sit by the truck and watch.
Because we know that many clients are not able to afford the costs of litigation up front, we take on more cases on a contingency fee basis than most firms. Contingency fee agreements mean that the client need not pay any fee for legal services unless and until our employment attorneys recover money and/or results on your race discrimination claim.
It’s Crucial That You Call The Right Attorney™ Today
If you feel that you are being discriminated based on your race, whatever race that may be, then call the right attorney. Race discrimination includes being harassed, fired, wrongfully terminated, discriminated against, demoted, wrongfully disciplined, and denied wages.
When you schedule an appointment, you will meet with a race discrimination lawyer from Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, who will help you determine the best way to pursue your legal claims.