Coworkers one-time slur may be unlawful harassment
Workplace harassment is unlawful under California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) if it is because of an employee’s membership in a protected class, such as race or gender, and is severe or pervasive enough to degrade the employee’s working conditions. An employer that takes adverse employment action against the complaining employee because of the complaint is liable for retaliation.
But is it unlawful racial harassment for a nonsupervisory coworker to use a racial epithet against a Black employee on a single occasion, where those coworkers share a workspace and duties?
Click here to read the full article written by SCMV Shareholder Dan Eaton and published in The San Diego Union-Tribune.