In the News: HR.com Publishes Robin Shea’s Analysis of Race Discrimination Case Headed to Trial

Constangy attorney and chief legal editor Robin Shea authored an article published in the January 2025 issue of HR.com’s Payroll, HRIS, Time & Attendance Excellence Magazine entitled, “University of Mississippi Race Bias Lawsuit Headed To Trial: Five Arguments That Failed.” 

In the article, Robin examined a recent University of Mississippi case in which a former employee filed a race discrimination lawsuit that will now go to trial as the university was denied summary judgment. She identified five key losing arguments that resulted in the case going to jury trial and why they could pose an issue.  

She discussed how even a “joke” can be evidence of discriminatory intent, how the honest-belief doctrine deteriorates when employers do not investigate and clearly communicate termination reasons, and how sharing a protected characteristic with the alleged discriminated party does not shield someone from discrimination claims. 

To view the full article, you may click here.  

The article was a republication of Robin’s earlier blog post, “Five losing arguments: Race bias case will go to trial.”