Brenda Chaney, a certified nursing assistant (CNA), claims in a lawsuit that she was restricted from helping a patient in need because her employer enforced a racial preference policy that prevented Chaney from helping the patient because of the color of her skin. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Chaney v. Plainfield Healthcare Center , held that this type of policy is unlawful in a July 20 opinion.
According to the 7th Circuit’s opinion, Plainfield Healthcare Center, a nursing home in Indiana, was sued by Chaney, a former employee, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act on the basis of a racially hostile work environment. Her basis for the hostile work environment claim was twofold.
