NJ Supreme Court sends hostile work environment claims to trial

After losing in both the trial and appellate courts, a former pharmaceutical executive managed to sway the minds of New Jersey Supreme Court justices to revive his hostile work environment claim. According to him, his direct supervisor twice referred to Hispanics by a racial epithet, thereby creating a hostile work environment. The lower courts held the two incidents weren't severe or pervasive enough to constitute a hostile environment and dismissed the case. In a unanimous ruling, however, the state's highest court disagreed and reversed the lower courts' decisions.

Facts

Meda Pharmaceuticals, Inc., hired Armando Rios, Jr., a Hispanic male, to serve as its director of brand marketing in May 2015. His direct supervisor was Tina Cheng-Avery.

Weeks after joining Meda, Rios found himself in a difficult situation. While telling Cheng-Avery that he and his wife were looking to buy a house, he claims she commented, "It must be hard for a sp-c to have to get a Federal Housing Administration Loan." Shortly thereafter, the supervisor allegedly repeated the slur when describing a Hispanic woman who was being considered for an acting role in a company television commercial.