All joking aside — Tenth Circuit addresses hostile work environment

Description

Abstract: When a food service worker felt she was the object of racially insensitive jokes — even after her complaints to management — she requested a transfer to a different department. This was denied, and she was fired after she failed to return to work. She sued, alleging that she’d been subjected to a hostile work environment and then constructively discharged in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But had she been subjected to enough abuse to make her claim of a hostile work environment stick? This article looks at the Tenth Circuit’s verdict. Citation: Hernandez v. Valley View Hospital, No. 11–1244, June 26, 2012 (10th Cir.)