Judge Backs Trial for Verizon Employee Fired for Overheard Slur

Verizon New York Inc. should face trial on whether it discriminated against a White field technician terminated for a racist remark overheard by a coworker over an open phone line, a Manhattan federal judge said.

A jury could find the company’s zero-tolerance anti-harassment policy “was applied differently based on race and that race played some role” in the decision to fire Peter Kelly, the court said, describing the case as a “close call.” The termination came after an investigation in which Kelly admitted using a variant of the slur while on his personal cell phone and a review of the ...