{"id":905,"date":"2017-05-17T17:54:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T17:54:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/"},"modified":"2017-05-17T17:54:18","modified_gmt":"2017-05-17T17:54:18","slug":"racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Racial Slurs by Red Sox Fans Illuminate Employer Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Racism reared its ugly head in Boston\u2019s Fenway Park when Red Sox fans shouted racial slurs, including the \u201cN-word\u201d at Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones. The incident ignited public outcry including a statement by Boston\u2019s mayor who denounced the fan\u2019s conduct and said the actions did not represent the city at large.<\/p>\n<p>It is often said that sports is a microcosm of American society. This is one example where this statement sadly holds true. Our courts continue to grapple with lawsuits alleging race discrimination and racially hostile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/practice-area\/labor-and-employment\/\">work environments<\/a>. At the heart of many of these cases are the alleged use of racial slurs including the type of slurs lodged at Adam Jones. Whether racial slurs themselves can constitute a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/examining-draymond-greens-slur-in-the-employment-law-context\/\">hostile work environment<\/a> typically depends upon the quantity, frequency, and severity of those slurs. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Without a bright line test, it is difficult for an employer to know with any certainty when a slur or slurs will create liability. For example, would the Red Sox fans\u2019 use of the \u201cN\u201d word at the game be sufficient to create a hostile work environment if it occurred in the workplace?<\/p>\n<p>At least one federal court recently held that it could. In <em>Daniel v. T&amp;M Protection Resources, LLC<\/em>, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that the one-time use of a severe racial slur from a supervisor to a subordinate can potentially, by itself, support a hostile work environment claim. In its decision, the Court noted prior precedent stating that \u201cperhaps no <em>single act<\/em> can more quickly alter the conditions of employment and create an abusive working environment\u201d than the use of an unambiguously racial epithet such as \u2018N*******\u2019 by a supervisor in the presence of his subordinates.\u201d\u00a0 Thus, while one racial slur generally might not create a hostile work environment, the one-time use of a severe racial slur, such as the \u201cN\u201d word, might be enough.<\/p>\n<p>The Court\u2019s opinion is not binding on employers outside the Second Circuit (New York, Connecticut and Vermont).\u00a0 However, it still serves as a cautionary reminder that the utterance of a single racial slur, if severe, could possibly support a discrimination claim depending upon the circumstances. Employers should, therefore, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/the-miami-dolphin-fiasco-a-playbook-of-poor-leadership\/\">be proactive in training its management team<\/a> about the importance of maintaining <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/essential-workplace-investigation-tips-to-consider-in-wake-of-nfl-and-nba-controversies\/\">a healthy work environment<\/a> and the need to promptly address any complaints of discrimination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Racism reared its ugly head in Boston\u2019s Fenway Park when Red Sox fans shouted racial slurs, including the \u201cN-word\u201d at Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones. The incident ignited public outcry including a statement by Boston\u2019s mayor who denounced the fan\u2019s conduct and said the actions did not represent the city at large. It is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":906,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Racial Slurs by Red Sox Fans Illuminate Employer Challenges<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The utterance of a racial slur could possibly support a discrimination claim. Employers should be proactive in training its management team.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Racial Slurs by Red Sox Fans Illuminate Employer Challenges\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The utterance of a racial slur could possibly support a discrimination claim. Employers should be proactive in training its management team.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Berman Fink Van Horn P.C.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-17T17:54:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4discrimination.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Berman Fink Van Horn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Berman Fink Van Horn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/\",\"name\":\"Racial Slurs by Red Sox Fans Illuminate Employer Challenges\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4discrimination.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-17T17:54:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-17T17:54:18+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0d284d556606ade11404fcbd125efdb9\"},\"description\":\"The utterance of a racial slur could possibly support a discrimination claim. Employers should be proactive in training its management team.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4discrimination.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4discrimination.png\",\"width\":200,\"height\":200,\"caption\":\"|\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Racial Slurs by Red Sox Fans Illuminate Employer Challenges\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/\",\"name\":\"Berman Fink Van Horn P.C.\",\"description\":\"A Business Law Firm In Atlanta\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0d284d556606ade11404fcbd125efdb9\",\"name\":\"Berman Fink Van Horn\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/deb7805c35c49d2de3c1f64d329a518a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/deb7805c35c49d2de3c1f64d329a518a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Berman Fink Van Horn\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/author\/bfv\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Racial Slurs by Red Sox Fans Illuminate Employer Challenges","description":"The utterance of a racial slur could possibly support a discrimination claim. Employers should be proactive in training its management team.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Racial Slurs by Red Sox Fans Illuminate Employer Challenges","og_description":"The utterance of a racial slur could possibly support a discrimination claim. Employers should be proactive in training its management team.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/","og_site_name":"Berman Fink Van Horn P.C.","article_published_time":"2017-05-17T17:54:18+00:00","og_image":[{"width":200,"height":200,"url":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4discrimination.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Berman Fink Van Horn","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Berman Fink Van Horn","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/","name":"Racial Slurs by Red Sox Fans Illuminate Employer Challenges","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4discrimination.png","datePublished":"2017-05-17T17:54:18+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-17T17:54:18+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0d284d556606ade11404fcbd125efdb9"},"description":"The utterance of a racial slur could possibly support a discrimination claim. Employers should be proactive in training its management team.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4discrimination.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/4discrimination.png","width":200,"height":200,"caption":"|"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/racial-slurs-by-red-sox-fans-illuminate-employer-challenges\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Racial Slurs by Red Sox Fans Illuminate Employer Challenges"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/","name":"Berman Fink Van Horn P.C.","description":"A Business Law Firm In Atlanta","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/0d284d556606ade11404fcbd125efdb9","name":"Berman Fink Van Horn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/deb7805c35c49d2de3c1f64d329a518a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/deb7805c35c49d2de3c1f64d329a518a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Berman Fink Van Horn"},"url":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/author\/bfv\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=905"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/905\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/906"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=905"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}