Appeals Court Says White Teacher Might Have Been Victim of a Hostile Work Environment in DEI Training

As the Trump administration and others have focused on potential illegalities involved with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs (DEI), numerous individuals have brought legal claims alleging DEI-related discrimination. A recent decision in a case involving a New York City educator has opened the door for a potential hostile work environment case based on mistreatment linked to diversity training she was required to take. 

Leslie Chislett was a supervisor in a program designed to improve access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses in city schools. Approximately 15 people worked under her. She alleges that she was required to attend training sessions run the NYC Department of Education’s Office of Equity and Access (OEA). According to Chislett’s complaint, instructors in these sessions repeatedly portrayed “values of white culture” as supremacist and singled out employees by race. In one session, she says participants were physically segregated and lined up to illustrate a “color line of privileges that favored whites.”

The lawsuit details how the OEA teachings also had a negative effect on Chislett’s daily work experience. When she was performing her managerial duties, Chislett claims that employees would accuse her of racism or white fragility. 

At trial, Chislett’s lawsuit was dismissed on summary judgment, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed that ruling, holding that a jury could reasonably find that plaintiff Chislett was subjected to a hostile work environment on the basis of race. Though defendants in this case and others often assert that the offending activity was limited to isolated situations, the panel held that there is no specific number of harassing incidents necessary to support a hostile work environment action. Rather, these cases must be judged on the on the totality of circumstances, and the severity and pervasiveness of the conduct, to determine whether a workplace is unlawfully hostile.

In Chislett’s case, evidence that other White educators complained about the training and the overall treatment of White employees by the Department of Education, bolstered her hostile work environment claim. If you believe that DEI training in your workplace has crossed a line and that you are the victim of continuous, concentrated mistreatment, it’s time to speak to a qualified employment lawyer.

Kardell Law Group advocates for clients who have been forced to work in a hostile work environment, or faced other forms of discrimination, due to their employer’s purported diversity efforts.