Rodriguez

We consider the interplay between the First Amendment and the right to be free of workplace harassment on the basis of protected status.

Facts

Professor Walter Kehowski sent three racially-charged emails over a distribution list maintained by the Maricopa County Community College District, where he teaches math. Every district employee with an email address received a copy. Plaintiffs, a certified class of the district’s Hispanic employees, sued the district, its governing board and two district administrators (the chancellor and the president) claiming that their failure to properly respond to Kehowski’s emails created a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII and the Equal Protection Clause.

Kehowski’s first email had “Dia de la raza” as its subject line and asked, “Why is the district endorsing an explicitly racist event?” (Citations and emphasis omitted.) Dia de la Raza translates as “Day of the Race” and is celebrated by some Hispanics instead of Columbus Day.

Kehowski’s next email, sent almost a week later, began, “YES! Today’s Columbus Day! It’s time to acknowledge and celebrate the superiority of Western Civilization.” Kehowski then offered excerpts from a…