The federal appeals court based in Denver agreed last month that a Black U.S. Postal Service employee in Colorado Springs failed to credibly allege the offensive conduct of a supervisor rose to the level of racial discrimination or a hostile work environment.
Paul P. Nelson, who worked for the Postal Service for 23 years, filed suit against Postmaster General Louis DeJoy for an encounter that took place at the North End Station on N. Prospect Street in August 2016. Allegedly, a White supervisor, Richard Hendrix, visited the site to conduct a meeting with Nelson and the other letter carriers. At that point:
• Hendrix allegedly began swearing and yelling at Nelson
• Hendrix dialed 911, identifying himself as the station manager who was “new here,” and falsely claimed Nelson was a disruptive, threatening employee who needed “an escort out of this building”
• Hendrix described Nelson as a Black male who might be “high” or “on drugs”
• Hendrix told the dispatcher he did not believe the station was safe
• Police officers arrived and questioned Nelson, but he was neither arrested nor charged
Nelson, an Army veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder, said he suffered ongoing emotional distress from the encounter.