WORKPLACE LAW -
Race Discrimination
Question:
One of my company’s managers calls the employees he supervises by “pet names.” We have a pretty informal workplace with a family type atmosphere, but as the HR director, I do not think this is a good idea. I told him to stop this practice, but he said the employees like it and it is harmless. I have heard some of these “pet names” and although they are not insulting, some of them could be interpreted as being related to the employees’ race or national origin. None of the employees have complained. Should I be concerned about this practice?
Answer:
Depending on the actual names the manager is using, the company could be at risk for racial or national origin discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has increased prosecution of discrimination claims through its E-RACE Initiative. Under the E-RACE Initiative, the EEOC is continuing its focus on the elimination of race and color discrimination from the workplace, and expanding its enforcement efforts to address contemporary forms of overt, subtle and implicit bias. Several recent cases illustrate some of the common, novel, and emerging issues in the realm of race and color discrimination.
One of these types of subtle bias includes “code words,” and the “pet names” used by the manager in your company may fall within this category. The EEOC has reportedly seen an influx of cases dealing with employees and managers using code words to racially harass and degrade other employees. The use of code words is being prosecuted in the same manner as other racially derogatory speech.
For example, in 2007, the EEOC filed a racial harassment suit against an employer that terminated a black employee for complaining that a coworker repeatedly referred to him as "Cornelius" in reference to an ape from the movie Planet of the Apes. That same year, the Commission settled a harassment suit in which a male employee who was of Chinese and Italian ancestry was taunted daily with code words, including being repeatedly called "Bruce Lee." The EEOC treats code words the same way it treats words that have been historically considered racial epithets.
Another type of subtle or implicit bias identified by the EEOC is associational discrimination. This is discrimination against job applicants and employees based on their association with persons (friends, spouses, or relatives) of another race or ethnic group. In trying to eliminate discrimination from the workplace, the EEOC is suing employers across the country for this newly identified type of discrimination.
For example, in 2007, the EEOC filed suit against a restaurant for allowing customers to harass a white employee because she associated with persons of a different race. The EEOC was involved in two similar claims in 2006. In one instance, it settled a case in which a management employee for a furniture chain referred to interracial couples as "Oreos" and "zebras" and disparaged an African-American female employee for marrying a white man. It settled another case in which a white female employee who worked without any problems was terminated after management saw her biracial children.
Associational discrimination is treated the same way as other types of discrimination that are based on race or color. Employees must be free to associate with members of other races or ethnic groups without concern that doing so will negatively affect their jobs. Accordingly, management must treat alleged violations of an employee's freedom of association the same way it would treat other allegations of discrimination or harassment.
Because you are concerned that some of the “pet names” may be related to employees’ race or national origin, it is very important to stop this practice. The best practice is to call employees by their given names, even if they do not appear to object to the “pet names.”
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