Prompt Action by Employer Nixes Racial Harassment Claim

All HR professionals know that a harassment claim must be investigated promptly and then appropriate action taken. In Moody v. East Mississippi State Hospital, decided by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, an employee’s suit was dismissed, in part, for exactly that reason.

A female African-American worked as a security officer for a hospital. She discovered a picture under the security officer sign-in book, portraying Ronald McDonald hanging from a tree with a noose around his neck. The African-American believed the picture was left for her because as an African-American, she would be frightened. She immediately took the picture to the hospital’s Chief of Public Safety, who promptly investigated the matter.

The chief quickly determined that a white male security officer was responsible for the picture. The white officer said he thought this would be funny because there was an article in the newspaper about an over-sized Ronald McDonald doll being stolen from a local McDonald’s. He apologized to the African-American employee.

The chief determined that counseling was a sufficient response. Within five days of receiving the complaint, the chief met with the guilty security officer, his supervisor, and the African-American. He emphasized to the white officer and his supervisor what the hospital’s policy on harassment was. The African-American was dissatisfied with this outcome and ultimately filed suit for racial harassment.

The court found that this single incident wasn’t directed toward the African-American and wasn’t done by someone with decision-making authority. The court also ruled that the employer had taken prompt action reasonably calculated to end any harassment. Thus, the  harassment claim was dismissed.

Allowing a picture of a noose to be hung in the workplace should never happen. It isn’t funny. If the picture can be linked to other harassing incidents, there’s a good chance that a hostile environment will be found to exist. No matter what the complaint is about, prompt action by the employer is imperative.