A Black House Staffer Alleges Discrimination and a Hostile Environment
A Black staffer for Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) has sued her employer, saying her supervisor made a comment about lynching to her and that reporting the problem resulted in race-based retaliation against her.
In a lawsuit filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Patrice Campbell, who serves as a constituent services representative, said her supervisor Karyn Davidman “created an intolerable hostile work environment” against Campbell because of her race.
According to Campbell’s lawsuit, at the beginning of March, Davidman was telling a story about constituents using lanyards to keep face masks around their necks and followed it by telling Campbell, “You are going to have to get a rope and put it around your neck.” Campbell, who is the only Black staffer in Schneider’s office, said her comments were an inappropriate reference to lynching, and Davidman responded that the “rope” was in fact a “lanyard” for masks.
