A federal judge in the Western District of Texas has ruled that a lawsuit involving racist slurs and discrimination at Lowe’s Home Centers will proceed to trial, setting the stage for a high-stakes legal battle over workplace conduct.
The judge granted in part and denied in part a motion for summary judgment filed by the retail giant, according to documents filed Aug. 11. The decision means the case against Lowe’s will not be dismissed before it reaches a jury. The plaintiff, a former assistant store manager, is suing the company under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act.
She alleges that her employment from 2020 to 2022 was defined by systemic harassment and discrimination. The worker claims she faced both sexual and racial harassment, alleging that her employer failed to protect her from a hostile work environment. She also claims the company violated the Family and Medical Leave Act by denying her requested time off when she tested positive for COVID-19, while a White co-worker was allowed similar leave around the same period.
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At the center of the dispute is the alleged failure of supervisors to address derogatory name-calling from customers and co-workers. In November 2021, the plaintiff reported that a fellow assistant store manager subjected her to severe and pervasive sexual harassment. She filed a complaint with HR, and that individual was ultimately terminated.
However, the plaintiff claims the company failed to remediate the situation in other areas. In June 2022, she alleged that White co-workers made derogatory, race-related comments toward her. Her store supervisor allegedly failed to take remedial actions when she reported this ongoing harassment and discrimination.
She also described an “aggressive” incident with an “irate” customer who called her a racial slur and followed her around the store. The plaintiff followed Lowe’s protocol by directing the customer to leave and calling the police. Her supervisor allegedly failed to complete the incident report immediately, and the plaintiff says the supervisor manipulated witness statements to prevent some accounts from being submitted.
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She was subsequently written up after an altercation with a store associate. The plaintiff claims she was barred from becoming operations manager, while the other associate was promoted to the position instead.
HR Dive reached out to Lowe’s for comment and the employer did not respond back by the time of publication.
Uninvestigated complaints can be a minefield for companies. For example, the plaintiff in Pratt v. Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry alleged that she was terminated for raising employees’ bias and harassment complaints. Discrimination based on sex also played a role in this case. Likewise, a Texas healthcare system is facing a lawsuit where the plaintiff alleged that she and other Black nurses faced race-based harassment on every shift. Brenyah v. Columbia Hospital Corp. of Bay Area not only raised the question of secondhand harassment, but brings to light how repeated use of racial slurs has been previously cited by courts as grounds for hostile work environment claims. Notably, in 2019, the appeals court ruled in Mack v. Town of Pinetop Lakeside, et al. that the use of four racial slurs over a one-year period constituted an abusive work environment.
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