It appears your Mother was right, "two wrongs do not make a right." Some companies, in their zeal to virtue signal their "DEI" (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) credentials, are running afould of the law by combatting historic discriminatory practices with current discriminatory practices in the mistaken belief that two wrongful practices equate to a legally supportable correct labor action.
More and more employees are now pushing back against racially-motivated reverse discrimination firings.
Consider the case of Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based Novant Health, a not-for-profit integrated system of 18 medical centers and more than 2,400 physicians in more than 800 locations, and an operator of outpatient surgery centers, medical plazas, rehabilitation programs, diagnostic imaging centers and community health outreach programs.
It appears that Novant Health fired a white male marketing executive just short of five years of exemplary service and replaced him with two qualified women, one white and one black as part of an alleged diversity and inclusion program. The executive was told by a member of senior management that he had done nothing wrong.
The fired executive brought a wrongful termination lawsuit against the company alledging "reverse discrimination." It was also alledged that the Chief Legal Officer, Medical Group President, Chief Information Officer, Patient Experience Officer and President of Haymarket Medical Center were all replaced either by a black person or a woman in the 12-18 months after him.
In what should serve as a cautionay tale for companies and a beacon of hope for wrongfully terminated employees, a jury awarded the executive $10 million dollars.
As expected, you cannot count on jury awards until the cash is in the bank. The company's expected response was issued forthwith, 'We are extremely disappointed with the verdict as we believe it is not supported by the evidence presented at trial, which includes our reason for [the]termination. We will pursue all legal options, including appeal, over the next several weeks and months."
According to attorneys, "The case is about the fact that you cannot fire people just to create opportunities to fill positions. It is not a case against Diversity and Inclusion."
Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?
