Employment discrimination on the basis of race has been in the news this week, as Battle v. Hurley Medical Center, out of Michigan, caught the attention of some major news organizations.
The complaint alleges that Tonya Battle was a nurse in the NICU at Hurley Medical Center, when the father of an infant she was caring for asked to speak with her supervisor. He told the charge nurse that he did not want any African Americans taking care of his baby, rolling up his sleeve to show her a tattoo which was believed to be a swastika of some kind.
Ms. Battle was reassigned because she was African American. A note was prominently posted on the assignment clipboard that read “NO AFRICAN AMERICAN NURSE TO TAKE CARE OF BABY.”
At some point, the attorney for Hurley Medical Center advised that charge nurse that the father’s discriminatory request could not be granted. However, they continued to honor that request for the duration of the child’s stay in the NICU.
The attorney was almost certainly correct. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said it best in Chaney v. Plainfield Healthcare Center:
It is now widely accepted that a company’s desire to cater to the perceived racial preferences of its customers is not a defense under Title VII for treating employees differently based on race.
If you have questions about your rights or restrictions under Title VII, contact the Minneapolis employment lawyers at LeBlanc Law and Mediation at 612-819-9652.
