Is a single utterance of an offensive racial slur – specifically the “N-word” – enough to create a hostile work environment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964?
A Black operating room aide in Dallas, Texas, has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the question. The petition references a circuit-split on the issue as grounds for considering the case. The underlying case is Robert Collier v. Dallas Cnty. Hosp. Dist., No. 19-10761 (5th Cir. Apr. 9, 2020), petition for cert. filed (U.S. Jan. 15, 2021) (No. 20-1004).
Robert Collier sued his hospital employer in district court, claiming he was subjected to a hostile work environment, and was fired in retaliation when he complained about it. Collier’s evidence of hostile work environment, included: (1) the N-word had been scratched into the work elevator wall and remained there for months despite Collier’s complaints to human resources; (2) swastikas were drawn on a wall in the hospital and were not painted over for months; and (3) a nurse called him “boy” (which...
