
Quoting
quincy
There was an interesting decision out of New York this past September, on the use of the n-word in the workplace. The case had to do with exchanges between an employer and his employee, however, and not with the lyrics of rap songs.
Even though the n-word can have different meanings depending, in large part, on who is using the word, in Brandi Johnson v STRIVE East Harlem, a New York Federal Court ruled that, regardless of race and who is using the word, the n-word has no place in an employment setting.
Brandi Johnson, an African American woman, was reprimanded by her black employer, who used the n-word when disciplining her, and she tape recorded the exchange. Johnson sued and she was awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages and an additional $30,000 in punitive damages.