Jury Awards $1 Million in Politically Motivated Employment Discrimination Case

NY Discrimination Verdict This is just a brief news report of the verdict but I believe that this case is part of an increased trend in employment cases against public employers, which is politically motivated job decisions where race is also a factor. The Plaintiff alleged discrimination based upon both his politics (Democrat) and race/national origin.(South Asian/India).  The jury apparently found that race discrimination played a role in the plaintiff's demotion. It is unclear from the article as to how the jury found with respect to the political claims. Given the unfortunate history of race and politics in public housing, it is probably difficult to separate one from the other.  In that regard, many Housing Authorities have been subject to litigation over historical practices involving race-based housing placements and discrimination; and race based employment.  Typically, these lawsuits were brought by African-Americans against Caucasians to secure greater access to public housing and employment opportunities.  As this country becomes more multicultural and diverse, it appears as though we will see more claims brought by other ethnic group members who believe that they have been discriminated against in housing or employment. In some cases, they may involve claims brought by one minority group against another.  In other situations, they will involve claims of "reverse" discrimination. Most likely, politics will continue to play some role.