Labor/Employment
Apr. 16, 2024
ACLU’s termination of whistleblower sparks debate over racially-coded language
The ACLU said an employee used racially coded language and fired her. The resulting lawsuit raises questions about the protection of employee speech under labor law and the distinction between protected speech and harassment.
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Kate Oh (Oh) was an outspoken critic of her superiors at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) during her five years of employment as a lawyer for the organization.
During her employment, Oh sent several scathing emails to human resources in which she complained about the conduct of her superiors. Oh believed that her superiors created what she described as a hostile workplace. She expressed her contention that the office operated with...