A Washington state man sued the city of Seattle after officials spent taxpayer money on DEI trainers who said 'that all white people are cannibals,' he claimed.
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he → sue → trainers
Joshua Diemert, a white man, worked for the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) from 2013 until his resignation in 2021, according to an opinion filing reviewed by the Daily Mail.
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Diemert → work → Mail
During his time there, Diemert was never disciplined and received satisfactory reviews from his employer - but that changed after he participated in the city's Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI), the filing stated.
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filing → discipline → Initiative
He first filed a suit against the liberal city in November 2022, alleging that the RSJI trainings resulted in him being discriminated against in the workplace.
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him → file → workplace
Diemert's claims were dismissed in February 2025 by a district court judge, but on Monday, a three-judge panel of Democratic appointees with the federal appeals court found that the incidents he detailed in the filing 'were sufficiently numerous, frequent, and severe to create a triable issue' that a jury can decide on.
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jury → dismiss → that
Diemert, like all employees in the agency, had to be a part of the RSJI initiative that 'aims to undo institutionalized racism and achieve racial equity in city government and the Seattle community,' according to the opinion filed on Monday.
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that → have → Monday
As part of the program, which was first implemented in 2004, employees are required to participate in trainings, but those who do not 'can still receive satisfactory performance reviews,' the legal document read.
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document → implement → reviews
Diemert attended a session in November 2019 that was called the 'Undoing Institutional Racism Workshop', where an unnamed trainer said, 'The real truth is... that all white people are cannibals,' Diemert recalled, per the filing.
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Diemert → attend → filing
Joshua Diemert worked for the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) from 2013 until he resigned in 2021 for being discriminated against in the workplace, according to a legal filing
During his time there, Diemert was never disciplined and received satisfactory reviews from his employer - but that changed after he participated in the city's Race and Social Justice Initiative (RSJI), the filing stated
The trainer also 'ranted' about it being a 'lie' that Christopher Columbus went to the Caribbean 'and that [the indigenous people living there] were cannibals,' the opinion stated.
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opinion → work → Caribbean
Meanwhile, other trainers who were present that day said that 'racism is in white people's DNA', and that 'white people are like the devil,' the filing stated.
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filing → say → devil
Diemert has also claimed that his coworkers called him a 'white supremacist' because of comments he made during the training, although his remarks were not specified, according to the opinion.
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remarks → claim → opinion
He also detailed a time when his manager, Gloria Hatcher-Mays, told Diemert to refrain from applying for an open supervisor position 'because she was looking for someone who was bilingual and who had contacts within one of the marginalized communities,' the document read.
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document → detail → communities
Hatcher-Mays, who is now the fire commissioner for King County Fire Protection District No. 20, went on to fill that role 'with a person of color, who was inexperienced and unqualified,' according to the opinion.
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who → go → opinion
Even after not getting the role, 'Diemert was forced to perform many of the position's duties without receiving the commensurate title or pay,' the filing stated.
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filing → get → title
Then, in that same month, another HSD manager, who was not named, asked him: '[W]hat could you possibly offer our department..., being a straight white male?' the documents said.
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documents → name → him
While employed at HSD, Diemert recalled noticing that one of his coworkers 'had denied utility assistance to an eligible white applicant' because, according to his colleague, that applicant had 'white privilege,' the filing said.
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filing → employ → privilege
Gloria Hatcher-Mays, Diemert's former manager, told him to refrain from applying for an open supervisor position 'because she was looking for someone who was bilingual and who had contacts within one of the marginalized communities,' the document read
But when he spoke up about it to his coworker, Hatcher-Mays 'berated him,' stating that 'it was impossible to be racist toward white people,' the opinion detailed.
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opinion → tell → people
Diemert also mentioned another one of his superiors in the complaint filing, Shamsu Said.
Said, whom Diemert reported to at HSD, called Diemert a 'colonist' with 'white privilege,' according to the documents.
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Diemert → mention → documents
He also told Diemert that he 'was to blame for all injustices in the United States,' the former HSD employee said, per the opinion.
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employee → tell → opinion
After his case was backed by the judges on Monday, Diemert's lawyer, Laura D’Agostino, stressed that this is the kind of justice that they have been seeking for all these years.
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they → back → years
D’Agostino, who is representing Diemert pro bono, told the Daily Mail: 'Title VII protects every employee from a racially hostile work environment, regardless of race.
'
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VII → represent → race
No one should have to endure years of racial hostility at work.
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one → have → work
The Ninth Circuit recognized that the repeated racial hostility Joshua Diemert endured deserves to be heard at trial.
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Diemert → recognize → trial
We look forward to returning to the district court so that Mr. Diemert can finally have his day in court.'
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Diemert → look → court
Now, the hostile workplace claims are headed back to US District Judge Jamal Whitehead (pictured) - the judge who threw out Diemert's case to begin with
Although the judges ruled in his favor, they decided to toss Diemert's equal protection claim on standing, the filing said.
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filing → head → standing
They ruled that the city's race-based groups, like the White Caucus and the African Descent Caucus, and some race-based trainings were 'explicit racial classifications,' according to the documents.
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groups → rule → documents
The court determined that Diemert was never forced into the White Caucus or barred from training, so he was not personally injured.
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he → determine → training
Now, the hostile workplace claims are headed back to US District Judge Jamal Whitehead - the judge who threw out Diemert's case to begin with.
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who → head → case
When approached for comment by the Daily Mail, Hatcher-Mays's legal counsel said to direct inquiries about the matter to the attorney for the city of Seattle.
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counsel → approach → Seattle
The Daily Mail contacted D’Agostino, the Seattle Human Services Department, Said, and Seattle City Attorney Erika Evans for comment.
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Mail → contact → comment
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