In Yelder v. Hegseth, 2025 WL 2373355 (8th Cir. 2025), the court, inter alia, affirmed the summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s hostile work environment claim asserted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
From the decision:
Here, Yelder argues that the following conduct constitutes severe or pervasive conduct: (1) Parker ripping up his leave request form for vacation leave in 2019; (2) Ring, Messina, or Parker, “harass[ing]” Yelder about needing a doctor’s note each time he called in to take a sick day, R. Doc. 91-7, at 32; (3) Parker scheduling Yelder to work weekends and night shifts; (4) Parker “calling [him] lazy, telling [him that he] w[as] moving too slow, [and] telling [him] to get a job at Walmart in a demeaning tone,” R. Doc. 101-2, at 46; and (5) Parker telling staff during group meetings and Yelder during individual meetings to put tissue in their ears for failure to listen. We hold that this conduct—either individually or collectively—fails to satisfy the demanding standard that our case law has established for showing severe or pervasive conduct. The conduct occurred over a period of 20 months.
The court concluded that “although Parker’s comments were insensitive and offensive, they do not rise to the level of hostile or severely abusive.”