Race and National Origin Discrimination in Educational Setting
Roseline, a black woman of Haitian descent, worked for a nonprofit organization providing early education, enrichment, and family services. Roseline worked as a family support clinician, and had been in the job for two years. Her work was marked by notable successes as she built connections with children and families in the program. During her first two years, she received a stellar employee performance report, a bonus, and an increase in her hours. The scope of her work was expanded to include middle and high school students, as well as implementing Girls Group services.
At the beginning of her third year, however, she was assigned to work at a summer camp location she had not previously worked at. There, she encountered a white co-worker who routinely made racial comments about co-workers of color and also about families of color who were served by the camp. These included comments to black co-workers about wanting to be as "tan" as them, and a statement about a young Haitian boy that his parents overdressed him because "they're like that." When reminded by Roseline that the child was autistic and had specific clothing preferences his family had to deal with, the white co-worker doubled down on her position, stating "“that’s how these people are, they always overdress their kids, they’re ridiculous.” On another occasion, when the children at the camp were having a water gun fight, the co-worker said to another black co-worker: "“you like guns to your head, you are from the hood.” Roseline was deeply uncomfortable with these and other remarks. Her direct supervisor, however, was the white co-worker's sister, so she did not feel comfortable reporting to her, and instead reported to another individual. While she was assured that Human Resources would look into and address the situation, in the meantime Roseline was faced with overt hostility from the woman she had reported and also from several other co-workers who were siding with the woman who made the racial comments. She was also criticized for not using the proper "chain of command" to report her concerns, and suddenly subject to intense scrutiny in minor areas of her job performance by her supervisor (the white co-worker's sister). Roseline, who loved her job and her work with children and families, found herself unable to function in that environment. She started to have panic attacks, and developed a serious anxiety disorder that required her to take a leave of absence. However, with no confidence that the environment would be any better when she returned, Roseline was in a difficult position. Discrimination Law SolutionWhile she was still on leave, Roseline contacted us. We reviewed her situation and her options, and drafted a letter to her employer outlining the inappropriate behavior and Roseline's potential claims. As a result, we were able to privately negotiate a severance payment for Roseline that allowed her to move on from this traumatic experience.
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Postscript
Roseline was facing a problem many of our clients have: if you are fired for a discriminatory reason, you can claim wrongful termination, but what if you resign because of discrimination or unlawful harassment in the workplace? If you are in a similar situation, remember there is a theory called "constructive discharge," which means if the unlawful behavior is bad enough, you might be able to show that your facially voluntary resignation was really caused by the unlawful behavior. You should talk to a lawyer before making this decision, however, because not all bad workplace situations meet the standard for constructive discharge.
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We have years of experience helping people with discrimination and retaliation issues, and we would be happy to help. You can use the button below to schedule a call back from a member of our team, or give us a call at 781-784-2322.
