SHRM loses $11.5 million discrimination lawsuit

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the world’s largest HR organization with 340,000 members, lost a racial discrimination lawsuit on Dec 5.

Catch up. Rehab Mohamed, the plaintiff, alleged in a June 2022 lawsuit that SHRM, her employer of four years, fired her shortly after she filed a racial discrimination complaint, HR Brew reported previously.

Mohamed, who is Black and Egyptian, claimed she was fired “weeks” after she issued a complaint to CEO Johnny C. Taylor Jr. and then-CHRO Sean Sullivan. SHRM claimed that she was fired for performance issues, but admitted that Mohamed was promoted just months before her termination.

Mohamed v. Society for Human Resource Management found that SHRM violated Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which prohibits race discrimination in contractual relationships, including employment contracts and protects against retaliation.

The jury awarded Mohamed $1.5 million in compensatory damages, and $10 million in punitive damages, according to court records.

“We are very happy that the jury spent a week listening very closely to the evidence and that they decided, as a result, to hold SHRM accountable,” Ariel DeFazio, a lawyer for the plaintiff, told Business Insider.

SHRM, for its part, appeared defiant. “We strongly disagree with today’s court ruling and with respect we will continue to move through the process by appealing this decision to the highest courts in the land,” the organization said in a statement on its website. “This claim has no merit. None. Today’s decision does not reflect the facts, the law, or the truth of how SHRM operates. We have acted with integrity, transparency, and in full alignment with our values and obligations.”

Zoom out. SHRM has been embroiled in multiple controversies around discrimination and DEI in recent years.

HR and DEI practitioners expressed anger and concern this past fall when SHRM invited anti-DEI provocateur Robby Starbuck to speak at its DEI-focused conference, Blueprint. Just one year prior, SHRM appeared to distance itself from DEI, removing “equity” from its language, a move that angered many HR professionals, HR Brew previously reported.

SHRM also faced criticism in 2020 over what many viewed as a disappointing response to the murder of George Floyd. HR practitioners have also denounced the organization for its silence on racial justice and LGBTQ+ rights issues.

At least three other discrimination complaints have been filed against or settled with SHRM over the last eight years, according to Business Insider. SHRM has maintained that it has not done anything wrong.

Many HR leaders were quick to comment on the verdict on LinkedIn. “I believe that a company’s culture starts at the top and trickles it way down,” wrote job coach Melissa Grabiner. “Looks like they need a full revamp of their leadership team…SHRM spends decades teaching organizations how to handle discrimination and retaliation, and yet here they are failing the very standards they preach.”