The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has reinstated a lawsuit filed by a former Seattle city employee, ruling that the city’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training programs may have created a hostile work environment. The decision, filed on September 28, 2026, reverses a lower court’s summary judgment and sends the case to a jury trial.
In the case of Joshua Diemert v. City of Seattle (No. 25-1188), a three-judge panel found that the specific nature of the city’s workplace training exercises was “sufficiently numerous, frequent, and severe” to create a triable issue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Washington state law. While the court revived the hostile work environment claim, it affirmed the dismissal of Diemert’s other claims regarding Equal Protection and retaliation.
Allegations of Racial Shaming
Joshua Diemert, a former employee of the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, alleged that the city’s mandatory training sessions frequently utilized racial shaming and derogatory characterizations of white employees. According to court records and reported claims from the Mountain States Legal Foundation, which is representing Diemert, trainers allegedly told staff that “racism is in white people’s DNA” and compared white people to “the devil” or “cannibals.”
Diemert further alleged that the workplace culture became increasingly hostile as these trainings were integrated into standard city operations. The Ninth Circuit’s ruling noted that the frequency and severity of these alleged incidents met the legal threshold required to bypass a summary dismissal, meaning a jury must now determine if the environment was legally “hostile.”
Shift in Judicial Scrutiny
The ruling is significant due to both the composition of the appellate panel and the evolving legal landscape following recent Supreme Court decisions. The panel consisted of Chief Judge Mary Murguia and Judges William Fletcher and Lucy Koh—all of whom were appointed by Democratic presidents. Legal analysts suggest that the panel’s decision to revive the claim signals a new era of scrutiny for DEI programs that utilize racial categorization or shaming, even within historically liberal jurisdictions.
The decision also aligns with the standards clarified in the 2025 Supreme Court case Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services. In that ruling, the high court established that Title VII protections do not vary based on whether a plaintiff belongs to a “majority” or “minority” group, reinforcing that workplace discrimination standards must be applied uniformly across all racial identities.
Future Impact on Workplace Policy
While the Ninth Circuit did not find the City of Seattle liable for discrimination, the reversal means the city must now defend its DEI curriculum in front of a jury. The city had previously defended the programs as necessary efforts to address systemic racism and foster a more equitable workplace.
The remand of this case provides a potential precedent for how municipal and private employers structure their “anti-racist” training. Programs that move beyond general education and into the territory of personal racial indictment or derogatory characterization may now face higher risks of Title VII litigation. The case will now return to the district court for further proceedings.
