Civil War re-enactors fire a cannon during a demonstration at the Living History Days at Confederate Reunion Grounds on Friday April 16, 2010 near Mexia, Texas. The weekend event features battle re-enactments, demonstrations, music and educational lectures. (AP Photo/Waco Tribune-Herald, Duane A. Laverty)
A federal judge in New York refused to dismiss a federal lawsuit filed by a fired office manager against the law firm she says allowed a senior attorney to make racist comments and play videos of lynchings in his office as other employees walked past.
Shonda Fernandez is a Black woman of Hispanic descent who was the office manager of Brooklyn real estate law firm Wenig Saltiel LLP from August 2018 until she was fired on February 27, 2019. Fernandez sued the firm and several of its attorneys for subjecting her to a hostile work environment in violation of Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act and the New York City Human Rights Law.
According to Fernandez, Ira Greene, a former firm partner who transitioned to an Of Counsel role after the firm was involved in a hostile takeover, is a Civil War buff who participated in reenactments as a Confederate soldier, played “Dixie” and other Confederate songs in his office, and talked about flying the Confederate flag. Fernandez said that Green would refer to his relatives as “good old boys,” and even told her during her first week at the firm that those relatives “to this day, [sit] on their porch in Virginia with their shotguns just like the good old days.”
Fernandez complained to the firm’s other partners that Greene’s comments were unacceptable, but alleged that the only response she received was laughter and advice to “not take it seriously” and rather, “get to know old Ira.”
Fernandez said in her complaint that she saw Greene not only visit white supremacist websites, but that on more than five occasions, she saw Greene watching disturbing videos in his office, once even calling her over and encouraging her to “take a look.”
Fernandez described the videos:
The videos showed “a man hanging from a tree with his testicles and his penis cut off and shoved in his mouth, from a noose and they set him on fire;” “a woman running through the woods, pregnant, by a group of white men who gang raped her, tied her to a tree, cut the baby from her and bounced it around like a football;” or a “little boy, running . . . who [was] grabbed and assaulted by a group of white men.”
Fernandez said that when she spoke up about the videos, partner Jeffrey Saltiel asked, “Was it anything good?” and warned, “Just wait until he starts playing the slave march!” Fernandez said that on another occasion, that same partner commented about another Black employee, “You can take the girl out of the ghetto, but you can’t take the ghetto out of the girl.”
Fernandez said that when a partner made a derogatory remark about minority lawyers, she informed him that her own daughter was a Harvard Law School graduate and successful corporate attorney.
Greene allegedly replied, “I don’t believe it. Most of the black judges, doctors, and business people have done favors or slept with someone to get to where they are, and many of them probably had a Jew backing them.”
Fernandez said she continued to raise multiple complaints about Greene’s behavior and ultimately, received a letter of apology from Greene pledging that he would “do [his] best to never again make statements about others that are clearly out of line, derogatory and completely inappropriate.” Fernandez noted in her complaint that the letter was identical to an apology letter Greene sent to another Black employee at the firm.
Following Greene’s apology, though, Fernandez said that it seemed as if the entire office “turned on her.” Fernandez said Greene later began making vulgar comments to her, such as suggesting she come into the bathroom with him, and that partner Meryl Wenig began to single her out for unfavorable treatment.
According to Fernandez, the firm’s lawyers sabotaged her work at the firm, thereby preventing her from carrying out her responsibilities.
The firm, Saltiel, and Wenig moved for summary judgment in Fernandez’s lawsuit. Greene, named individually in the lawsuit and now retired, did not join the motion for summary judgment.
The firm disputed that Greene watched the alleged videos, and offered a computer expert who testified that Greene could not have visited the sites due to the firm’s content filter. The defendants also contended that even if true, the incidents Fernandez raised do not amount to a hostile work environment.
Barack Obama appointee U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly of the Eastern District of New York and issued a 44-page ruling on March 29 finding that Fernandez’s claim for hostile work environment could continue toward fact finding.
“The obscene, violent, and racist videos are so plainly hostile and intolerable that the mere act of showing them to the plaintiff, without more, could alter the conditions of her employment,” Donnelly wrote and noted that courts have found that displaying nooses in an office to be legally actionable.
The firm has maintained that Fernandez was not fired due to any race-related issue, but rather, because of poor job performance, insubordination, and rudeness. Donnelly’s ruling dismissed Fernandez’s claim for retaliation, finding that the firm produced undisputed evidence that she was fired for poor performance. Donnelly also dismissed Fernandez’s discrimination claim on the basis that she was not subjected to disparate treatment.
Greene told the ABA Journal that Fernandez’s lawsuit is “totally fictitious,” and said, “The whole things is a lie from beginning to end.” Greene called the lawsuit “painful” and said it was the only accusation ever leveled against him in his entire career, which began in 1974.
Saltiel told the ABA Journal that Donnelly’s ruling was a “resounding vindication” of “spurious state and federal claims,” and boasted that they are confident a jury will agree that Fernandez’s other claims are meritless.
Greene told the ABA Journal that he is unrepresented in the case and unaware of the court’s decision. Greene also said that Fernandez’s allegations have been dangerous to his health and that Fernandez herself created a hostile work environment.
“The minute I saw the way she mistreated the staff, I told my former partners: This woman is not good for the people; she’s not good for the office,” he said. “She made the office sour.”
Law&Crime reached out to attorneys for the parties for comment, but did not receive a response.
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