Posts tagged racial slur

    Black worker’s use of anti-Black slur not protected under Title VII, judge holds

    October 14, 2025 // “The results of such a rule would be impossible to apply,” Weilheimer wrote. “How is a manager to know whether the person who just used an anti-Semitic slur is Jewish, or who used a homophobic slur is homosexual? The questioning required to get to the bottom of those sorts of determinations would be sure to lead to more discrimination, not less.” Recent case law has produced mixed results for employees who allege discrimination over the use of racial slurs by others in the workplace. In 2024, a Louisiana federal court held that a plaintiff’s alleged overhearing of one co-worker calling another a racial slur did not rise to the level of harassment, in part because the plaintiff was not the target of the slur. And last month, a Michigan federal judge found that a manager’s use of a single ethnic slur was insufficient to show that the plaintiff faced unlawful discrimination.

    Republic Services sues Teamsters over alleged actions on picket line as strike passes two week mark

    July 17, 2025 // According to the suit, on the first day of the strike, picketers at a Revere facility swarmed a rental car and vans with management and 40 replacement workers, trapping them for three hours. Republic Services alleges that a union official slashed tires on two vans, while others rocked the vehicles and screamed profanities and homophobic slurs. (The suit claims that Revere police on scene took no action in response to the incident. A Revere police spokesperson didn't return a request for comment.) The suit alleges that on another occasion, the same union official spit in the face of a security guard hired by Republic Services. WBUR left messages with the union official seeking comment but did not hear back. The company claimed in the suit that Local 25 President Thomas Mari yelled at Republic General Manager Kenny Runge, words to the effect of “You think this is bad? Wait until we ramp it up."