Among other things, the employee allegedly overheard trainers say that “white people are cannibals,” that “racism is in white people’s DNA,” and that “white people are like the devil.”
Reversing in part a district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the City of Seattle against the racial discrimination claims asserted by a former city employee, the Ninth Circuit determined that the evidence presented by the employee, accepted as true, would show that he was subjected to racially offensive statements and generalizations sufficiently severe and pervasive to state a colorable claim for a hostile work environment. According to the employee, the environment largely stemmed from the city’s Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI) program, which was designed to undo institutionalized racism in the workplace. The court did, however, affirm the grant of summary judgment against his constructive discharge, retaliation, and equal protection claims (Diemert v. City of Seattle, No. 25-1188 (9th Cir. Sept. 28, 2026)).
The employee in this case is a white man who began working for the Human Services Department (HSD) for the City of Seattle in 2013.
RSJI program. Like all HSD workers, the employee participated in the city’s RSJI program. Started in 2004, the program aims to undo institutionalized racism and achieve racial equity in city government and the Seattle community.
Several workplace activities are offered under the RSJI, including trainings and events. Employees are...
Taking your tablets and checking your sugar is only part of living with diabetes. Every day you also decide what to eat, what to trust, and whether the medicine is even necessary. Increasingly, th...