New York (CNN) -- A federal jury in New York ruled Tuesday that a man who identifies as black and Hispanic and the nonprofit he founded must pay punitive damages to an African-American employee after a previous ruling that the use of the "n-word" is inappropriate among minorities in a workplace. The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by Brandi Johnson, who is African-American, against STRIVE, the employment center where she worked, claiming she was a victim of a hostile workplace after enduring verbal harassment and a series of statements filled with profanity and racial slurs from her supervisor. The employment center in East Harlem argued that the use of the word was part of a "tough-love culture."
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A black employee sues, claiming her black boss used the n-word in a rant against her
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A jury awards Brandi Johnson a total of $280,000 in damages
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Jury hears recording in which nonprofit founder Rob Carmona uses the n-word eight times
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"I come from a different time ... What I'm trying to do is help," Carmona says during trial
African-American
African-American
"You have heard the connotation that the n-word can have different meanings depending on the speaker; there is an undisguised belief that if the person saying the n-word is black or @placeholder, somehow it makes it OK.
African-American
African-American
"There are a number of cases where the n-word has been used in a workplace, but usually it's been done between people of different races, and when we're having that discussion, it seems that it's clear that if you're not @placeholder and you use the n-word, absolutely it's insulting," Sharpe said.
Brandi Johnson
Brandi Johnson
"This has been a long and arduous journey for me working at STRIVE, and to be belittled and degraded by the founder and to have him justify him disrespecting me was hurtful," @placeholder said Tuesday.
STRIVE
Johnson claimed Carmona targeted her with negative comments after she tried to defend a graduate from a STRIVE program who had allegedly been sexually harassed by a @placeholder employee, according to the complaint.