By Gregg Clifton and Blake Wilkie, of Jackson Lewis P.C.
Illustrating the concept of reverse discrimination, Margo Kline, a former community development coordinator with the Atlanta Hawks who was terminated by the team in March of 2017, has filed suit against the team in U.S District Court in Atlanta, alleging discrimination based on gender and race because she is a white female and retaliation.
Kline’s complaint seeks damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees, and the equitable remedy of reinstatement or front pay in lieu of reinstatement. Kline previously filed a charge of race and sex discrimination and retaliation with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which in December of 2017 dismissed her allegations and provided her a notice of a right to sue.
Reverse discrimination refers to the unfair and different treatment of members of a historically advantaged or majority group of people. It is illegal to make employment decisions based on an employee or applicant’s race, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or pregnancy. This includes discrimination against members of a majority group; an individual belonging to a majority or “advantaged” group is not precluded from using the same discrimination laws as any minority or traditionally disadvantaged group. While reverse discrimination is often downplayed because those subject to it are regarded as “advantaged,” the number of reverse discrimination cases is on the rise. Approximately 20 percent of discrimination claims are filed by majority or advantaged individuals.
Kline worked for the Hawks from nearly five years, from June 2012 until March 13, 2017, when she was terminated for her recurring performance issues. However, Kline claims she was never written up prior to receiving a final written warning at the end of February. Instead, she says she was terminated because of her complaints to Hawks management about one of her supervisors, Hawks external affairs director David Lee. Kline alleges that Lee, an African-American, treated white employees differently than black employees. She alleged that he:
Made “jokes about white culture”
Made “it clear that he wanted to hire black individuals,” not “white females” whenever a position opened within his department
Was more likely to “offer raises and promotions” to African-American employees than their white colleagues
Expected and required more of his white subordinates, particularly white women, than he did of his black employees
Promoted and hired less qualified African-American individuals over white people, particularly white women
Acted “dismissive and exclusionary toward white employees, especially white women”
Kline also alleges that she was “subjected to retaliation and continued discriminatory treatment.” She claims others received credit for her work, that she was the topic of “gossiping” and other negative treatment from colleagues, and that important information was withheld from her.
The complaint also recounts a lunch exchange on February 3, 2017, between Kline and Nzinga Shaw, an African-American woman who is the Hawks’ chief diversity and inclusion officer. Kline said she told Shaw about her discriminatory treatment, and mentioned a group discussion between her, Shaw, and Lee a few days prior regarding a political campaign picture at a nearby HBCU (Historically Black College and University). Shaw had shown the poster to the group and said, “Look at this, they have a group called ‘Blacks for Trump.’” Lee said he refused to believe that such a group could exist and that “it was probably just a bunch of white people in black face.” Shaw laughed at the comment, but later told Kline that his comment was “ignorant” and stated, “That could be a lawsuit!” At the same lunch, Kline mentioned to Shaw that she felt the Hawks’ Diversity and Inclusion Committee, of which Kline was a member, was hypocritical, and she pointed out instances of favoritism toward African-Americans and poorer treatment of white colleagues.
On February 21, 2017, Shaw and a new human resources manager, Tabula Dixon, met with Kline and told her that she was being placed on a “Final Written Warning” as a result of “ongoing deficiencies in her conduct and/or performance.” The Warning stated that termination may result from any further misconduct from Kline. Kline allegedly attempted to meet with Shaw to further discuss the reasons for her discipline, but was unable to do so. On March 13, 2017, Kline was terminated despite allegedly fully complying with the terms of the Warning.
The Hawks conducted an internal investigation into the allegations and vehemently deny that any discrimination occurred. “We take all claims of discrimination seriously and have performed a thorough review of these baseless claims,” the Hawks said. “The case was quickly dismissed at the EEOC level. We deny these claims and will vigorously defend against them.”
The Hawks have yet to file a formal answer to Kline’s complaint.
Discrimination complaints arise where employees are, or perceive themselves to be, held to a different standard of performance or behavior than colleagues of a different race, national origin, religious background, and so on. In reverse discrimination cases, as here, the disparate treatment is simply directed toward a member of a traditionally majority class of individual as opposed toward a member of a non-majority class. Reverse discrimination can arise in any workplace.
To deter discrimination of every kind, all employers, including professional sports franchises, should conduct due diligence and regular internal audits and employee training to ensure discrimination does not occur. They should also promote and cultivate a tolerant workplace, including encouraging employees to speak about any alleged discriminatory activity that they believe may be occurring, and hold all employees to the same standards of performance and behavior, regardless of their race, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, or religion.
