Ninth Circuit Revives White Former Seattle Employee’s Racial-Hostile-Workplace Claims
Decision date: September 28, 2026
Procedural status: Published appellate ruling reversing summary judgment on two hostile-work-environment claims and returning them to the district court. This is not a finding that Seattle discriminated or that the allegations are true.
What the court decided
A unanimous Ninth Circuit panel ruled that former Seattle Human Services Department employee Joshua Diemert presented enough evidence for a jury to consider whether he experienced a racially hostile workplace under Title VII and Washington law. Diemert connects the alleged incidents to Seattle’s Race and Social Justice Initiative, which included mandatory race-focused meetings and training.
The court said that, if Diemert’s disputed account is proven, the evidence could show “a series of racially offensive statements and generalizations bearing little or no connection to legitimate training efforts.” The panel stressed that Seattle vigorously disputes portions of his account.
Allegations at issue
- Trainers or coworkers allegedly said racism was embedded in white people and compared white people to “the devil.”
- Diemert says he was called a “colonist,” a racist and a white supremacist.
- He alleges that a supervisor pressured him to relinquish a leadership role so a person of color could advance.
Claims the court rejected
The panel upheld Seattle’s victory on Diemert’s constructive-discharge, disparate-treatment, retaliation and constitutional equal-protection claims. The court did not hold that race-conscious training is inherently unlawful; it held that such programs may violate employment law if they create a racially hostile environment.
Responses
A Seattle City Attorney’s Office spokesperson said the city is reviewing the ruling and discussing its next steps. Seattle denies wrongdoing and maintains that its initiative applies equally to employees of every race.
Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Laura D’Agostino said the decision demonstrates that Title VII protects every employee from racial hostility and that Diemert will now have an opportunity to present the claim in court.
Why it matters
The published appellate decision clarifies that ordinary hostile-workplace protections apply regardless of the employee’s race and that workplace racial-equity training does not insulate related conduct from Title VII scrutiny.