[busterarm]

`“I whistle blew a colleague who used the N-word in jokes. HR found nothing conclusive”`

I was once asked in an HR investigation about a similar accusation where I was present in the room when a coworker was supposed to have said this slur in a joke.

Not only was the word not said, but the actual context of the conversation reported was that the accused party was decrying a public figure for making blatantly racist statements. I made it absolutely clear to HR that nobody in the room would tolerate even the slightest bit of racism -- none of us would find that acceptable in any way.

Certain people have sensitivities such that they will overhear things in passing and then inject words into a conversation that were never said. It's just like that game of telephone we all play as kids that somehow everyone forgets the lessons of by adulthood.

That's my charitable interpretation of the reporter's actions in this circumstance. Given their wild accusations about a recent new hire who is a minority though, I suspect something more nefarious and that HR process might be used as a weapon by an actual racist here.

My point is just that evidence is important and that probably most companies don't want the blowback of letting a known racist get away with it because that sort of thing tends to blow up in public later.