A former Seattle city employee has filed a federal lawsuit against his employer alleging he was the victim of a “racially hostile” work environment, per Fox News. Anything coming from Fox News ought to be taken with a grain of salt (or the whole shaker). So, upon reviewing the suit it seems most of the allegations are related to a diversity training program.
Joshua Diemert was a program intake representative at Seattle’s Department of Human Services, working there from 2013 to 2021. He claimed in the suit he was racially discriminated against by his colleagues, per the suit. In one instance, Diemert claimed a colleague told him it’s “impossible to be racist toward white people.” In another, he claimed a colleague accosted him, saying he was complicit in the sins of slavery. Overall, Diemert alleged his consistent reports of being discriminated against were blatantly ignored.
However, when the department introduced the Race and Social Justice Initiative, things escalated even further. Per the suit, he believed all the trainings he was required to complete for were segregated by race and based on racial stereotypes. He was even cited trying to sign up for one reserved for people of color instead.
Diemert claimed the response to his objection to the program resulted in violent, hateful emails from his colleagues.
Read more of the case from Diemert’s lawsuit:
The Department requires that all employees participate in Race and Social Justice Initiative training that aggressively promotes the concept of “white privilege” and the collective guilt that white employees like Mr. Diemert purportedly bear for societal inequality.
As a member of the Department, Mr. Diemert’s annual reviews included his supervisor’s assessments of whether Mr. Diemert completed RSJI activities or events. As part of his Race and Social Justice Initiative training in 2019, Mr. Diemert attended a two-day “Undoing Institutional Racism” (UIR) workshop. This was hosted by El Centro De La Raza and taught by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond.
The UIR workshop is rooted in critical race theory, and the facilitators at the event stated that “white people are like the devil,” that “racism is in white people’s DNA,” and that “white people are cannibals.”
When Mr. Diemert objected, the facilitators used their platform to belittle and attack Mr. Diemert. Other coworkers that were present continued the mockery in the workplace and made Mr. Diemert the office pariah. Mr. Diemert’s coworkers called him a “white supremacist.”
In the suit, Diemert alleges an internal investigation was triggered by his claims of a hostile environment. However, the lead investigator was part of a RSJI task force, Brandon Kuykendall. In the final report, no fault was found on the side of the department.
The obvious anti-CRT language in the suit makes Diemert’s comes off as political and to some, maybe suspect. However, an external investigation would be the key to proving his colleagues terrorized him in the way he says.
Diemert claims his civil rights were violated under the Equal Protection Clause and asks for $300,000 in damages.