When the African-American nursing supervisor’s family visited the nursing director’s home the director made a remark referring to the nursing supervisor’s children as her "little monkeys."  Back at work the nursing supervisor filed a complaint alleging racial discrimination.   Soon after she filed her complaint her work schedule was changed allegedly in retaliation for her complaint.

    The US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled there was no racial discrimination because the nursing director had no intention to convey a derogatory racial message with his remark.   However, if the nursing director retaliated for the nursing supervisor’s complaint with the schedule change the nursing supervisor would have grounds for a retaliation lawsuit.

    An employee cannot suffer retaliation for complaining about a statement or action by a supervisor which the employee reasonably believed was discriminatory, even if the statement or action was not intended as discriminatory and would not be seen as such by most people.