‘N-Word’ as Hostile Work Trigger Left in Gray Area by High Court

Robert Collier says nearly every day he saw the “N-word” carved into the wall of the elevator he took to the cafeteria of the Dallas hospital where he worked. In a storage room, a pair of swastikas were painted two feet high on the wall where the tools he used were kept.

Collier, who is Black, says he complained to his former employer Parkland Health and Hospital System but the offensive word and graffiti weren’t removed for months. He also says he and other Black employees were referred to as “boy” by colleagues.

Despite calls from civil rights groups, the ...