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Court Upholds $550,000 Verdict For Racial Abuse
It not sufficient for an employer to simply have a policy and complaint procedure addressing unlawful harassment in the workplace. Employers are advised to communicate their policies, conduct effective training of employees, promptly investigate suspected harassment issues and take steps to put an end to such conduct.
By James E. Hall, Mark T. Kobata, Marty Denis and D. Diane Hatch
 reg Goldsmith, an African-American elevator maintenance worker in Birmingham,
Alabama, filed an EEOC charge against his employer, Bagby Elevator Co. Inc. Goldsmith
alleged that his supervisor, Ron Farley, regularly referred to African-Americans
in insulting and racist language. Goldsmith testified that Farley told a white employee,
"Them niggers are crazy. Some of the dumbest niggers I have ever seen." At a store
with an African-American employee, Farley told the store clerk, "Look, I bought
me a slave." When Goldsmith complained, he was told to accept it.
Bagby’s employee handbook included an anti-discrimination
policy, but the company’s president testified that he was not that familiar with
it and was unsure how he would discipline an employee for a violation.
In response to the EEOC charge, Bagby required all employees
to sign an agreement requiring all past, present and future claims to be arbitrated.
When Goldsmith refused to sign the agreement as written, he was terminated. He then
filed a new retaliation charge. A U.S. District Court jury awarded Goldsmith $54,321
in compensatory damages and $500,000 in punitive damages. The U.S. Court of Appeals
for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta upheld the jury’s award, finding that the employer’s
reckless indifference to the employee’s civil rights justified the award.
The 11th Circuit noted the case provided "an important reminder:
despite considerable racial progress, racism persists as an evil to be remedied
in our Nation." Goldsmith v. Bagby Elevator Co. Inc., 11th Cir., No. 06-14440 (1/17/08).
Impact: It not sufficient for an employer to simply have a
policy and complaint procedure addressing unlawful harassment in the workplace.
Employers are advised to communicate their policies, conduct effective training
of employees, promptly investigate suspected harassment issues and take steps to
put an end to such conduct.
Workforce Management, March 17, 2008, p. 8
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D. Diane Hatch, Ph.D., is a human resources consultant based in San
Francisco. James E. Hall, Mark T. Kobata and Marty Denis are partners with
the law firm of Barlow, Kobata and Denis, with offices in Los Angeles and Chicago. E-mail editors@workforce.com to comment.
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