An $811,264 award unravels - and a buried handbook clause couldn't stop the jury
A federal appeals court vacated an $811,264 retaliation verdict for a Black worker removed after a grooming-policy complaint, ordering a new trial.
The Eleventh Circuit's August 5, 2026 ruling shows how a large retaliation award can come undone on appeal, and how the handling of a hairstyle complaint can pull an employer back into court.
The worker was hired for a mailroom job at a Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Alabama. She wore her hair in locs. The security contractor that employed her, Dynamic Security, enforced a grooming policy that banned locs and similar styles for uniformed officers. She got the job after showing interviewers a photo of her hair in an "updo," which they approved.
On her first day, she arrived with her hair in locs and was sent home over it. She testified that a manager linked the policy to race, telling her that people at the plant "don't want African Americans wearing their hair like this." The next day she wore a hat, but a meeting with two managers grew tense. She testified that one manager warned her, "You're going to be a problem."
She filed a written discrimination complaint. Soon after, a district manager told her she could not return to work. She took her case to the EEOC in August 2017 and sued in October 2019, alleging race and pregnancy discrimination and retaliation under Title VII and Section 1981.
Only her Section 1981 retaliation claim reached a jury. It...
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