by Race in the Workplace special correspondent Erica

Nooses, Swastika Evidence In Lawsuit - WMAQ Chicago
In the midst of a civil rights lawsuit at Navistar International, “… a bag of hangman’s nooses was found under the plant’s human resources director’s desk … Racist graffiti found throughout the plant was also allegedly ignored. The graffiti included the ‘N word’ on a paper towel holder, pictures of nooses that included the phrase, ‘Hang ‘em high,’ a mop painted in imitation of a black woman’s hair and a swastika on the end of a wooden stick.” A woman who reported the use of the n-word got fired. The perpetrators considered it all “just a joke.” (via Resist Racism)

Single Incidences that Create a Hostile and Offensive Work Environment - The Black Factor
“[T]here are single incidences that are legally recognized as immediately being vile enough to rise to the level of creating a hostile and offensive work environment for an African American employee. Therefore, it would only take one occurrence to create a workplace situation that would require immediate action from a supervisor or other member of authority within a company.” The aforementioned bag of nooses would be one such incidence.

Interim Guidance on the use of Race and Ethnic Categories in Affirmative Action Programs - U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs
“The existing EEO-1 Report calls for workforce data to be broken down by nine job categories, using five race and ethnic categories. The revised EEO-1 Report changes the race and ethnic categories by adding a new category titled ‘two or more races’ and dividing the category ‘Asian or Pacific Islander’ into two separate categories - ‘Asian’ and ‘Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islanders.’” (via DCI Consulting’s OFCCP Blog)

Don’t Ask-Maybe - Forbes.com
What a company can and can’t ask in a pre-employment inquiry. It varies from state to state, must be worded carefully, and the intent in asking plays a role in its legality.

‘Glamour’ Editor To Lady Lawyers: Being Black Is Kinda A Corporate “Don’t” - Jezebel
A Glamour editor calls afros and dreadlocks fashion don’ts during a presentation to New York law firm.

Procedural Path Dependence: Discrimination and the Civil-Criminal Divide by Julie Suk - Social Science Research Network
Whether a case is tried via criminal or civil proceedings influences the way the case is tried (i.e., how you gather evidence, etc.) This is known as procedural path dependence. Julie Suk explores the constraints of the American system, compares them to the French system, and explains how employment discrimination cases must break out of the mold to be properly tried. (via Workplace Prof Blog)

Recommended Reading is a weekly feature where we link to some of our favorite workplace-related blog posts and articles. If you would like to suggest a link to Erica, please email [email protected]