Samantha, who is African American, threatens to file a discrimination charge for a recent verbal warning you issued, claiming that you have overlooked similar behaviors by at least three White employees.

You have either disciplined these employees in the past for similar behaviors or you are confident their behaviors are dissimilar to the behavior for which you are disciplining Samantha.

In response to Samantha’s behavior, the most appropriate response would be

a. I would be interested in talking with you more about why you believe I am discriminating against you. However, now is not the time.

b. I didn’t realize you would be so upset. Tell me more about your concerns. I certainly don’t mean to hurt your feelings.

c. I’m not at liberty to discuss with you any disciplinary action I may have taken regarding other employees.

d. I don’t have to entertain your clearly erroneous perceptions of your behavior and the behavior of your coworkers.