Failure To Pursue Complaint Regarding Racial Comments Forecloses Hostile Environment Conclusion
FORD v. MINTEQ SHAPES AND SERVICES (November 24, 2009)
Dennis Ford has been employed as a forklift operator for Minteq for many years. Throughout those years, he has been the only African-American employee at his facility. In 2007, Ford brought a race discrimination claim against Minteq. He complained that a coworker referred to him as "black man," that a supervisor called him a guerrilla, that he was not allowed to bring his grandchildren to a holiday party and that he was retaliated against for seeking outside medical attention for an on-the-job injury. The district court granted summary judgment to Minteq. Ford appeals.
In their opinion, Judges Bauer and Wood affirmed. The Court noted that Ford's racial harassment claim required proof of an abusive work environment. The factors to be considered in determining whether the employer's conduct is severe and pervasive are the frequency and severity of the conduct, whether it is physically threatening and whether it interferes with the complainant's job. The Court concluded that Ford's complaints, individually and in the aggregate, did not rise to that level. Specifically with respect to the "black man" comments, the fact that Ford complained only once and never followed up with his employer on that complaint would not allow a reasonable juror to find that it rose to the level of harassment. The Court also concluded that Ford failed to present sufficient evidence on his disparate pay and retaliation claims to reach a jury.
