A Brooklyn judge denied the New York City Law Department's motion to dismiss a discrimination complaint filed by a former employee who alleges that his supervisors made racist comments and that he was fired in retaliation for lodging a complaint.

Dwayne Parham alleges that his supervisors began hurling racial slurs at him in 2018, just a few months after he began working for the Law Department's special litigation department. Parham claims that senior counsel Michael Finkelstein made comments to him about fried chicken and watermelon, that he was passed over for mentorship opportunities, and that he was chastised in front of colleagues, according to court papers.