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What can I do about an employee who often cries 'racism'?
http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/articles/18774/1/What-can-I-do-about-an-employee-who-often-cries-racism/Page1.html
John Wilcox, Moderator
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John Wilcox is senior editor of 15 HR Specialist newsletters covering employment law, compensation and benefits, as well as theHRSpecialist.com. A journalist who has covered HR, training, organization development and business management for more than 15 years, John keeps his finger on the pulse of what’s working in HR through daily contact with some of the nation’s top HR pros, business people and employment law attorneys.
 
By John Wilcox, Moderator
Published on 5/5/2009 - 2:00pm
 
We have an African-American employee who has repeatedly complained that supervisors and co-workers single her out for poor treatment because of her race. This has ranged from the very serious (that she received a poor review because she is black) to the trivial (that someone told a joke about Barack Obama to upset her).

On every occasion, HR has investigated her complaints. We’ve never found any evidence of discrimination or harassment, which infuriates her even more. Eventually, she calms down, but five or six months later she’s back with another complaint. She’s otherwise a good employee. Any ideas on how to handle her?—Jeanne

We have an African-American employee who has repeatedly complained that supervisors and co-workers single her out for poor treatment because of her race. This has ranged from the very serious (that she received a poor review because she is black) to the trivial (that someone told a joke about Barack Obama to upset her).

On every occasion, HR has investigated her complaints. We’ve never found any evidence of discrimination or harassment, which infuriates her even more. Eventually, she calms down, but five or six months later she’s back with another complaint. She’s otherwise a good employee. Any ideas on how to handle her?—Jeanne



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