Celebrity chef Paula Deen has won her ongoing legal battle on discrimination.
A federal judge Monday dismissed race discrimination claims by a former Savannah restaurant manager, ruling that a white former employee had no standing to bring claims of racial discrimination in a lawsuit against Deen, according to the New York Times.
Former employee, Lisa T. Jackson who managed two of Deen's restaurants in Savannah Ga., until 2010, sued Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers, last year on claims of sexual harassment and racially offensive talk. According to USA Today, Jackson allegedly claimed the black workers received unfair employment treatment.
Jackson, who was manager of Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House for five years, said the discrimination created a difficult work environment for her. She also said such prejudices were "more personally offensive" to her because her nieces are bi-racial, according to the New York Times. Deen is co-owner of the restaurant, which is primarily run by her brother.
Judge William T. Moore Jr., of Federal District Court in Savannah, ruled that Jackson lawsuit did not meet the standard for protection under federal law and said the former manager was no more than "an accidental victim of the alleged racial discrimination."
According to the Judge Moore, it is not the responsibility of the court to deal with personal issues between employers and their workers.
"There are no allegations that defendant Hiers's racially offensive comments were either directed toward plaintiff or made with the intent to harass her," Moore said in his ruling, according to the Huffington Post.
According to the New York Times, allowing Jackson's claim to continue would "serve to conscript federal courts as human-resources departments that are responsible for imposing and monitoring a federally created standard for harmony in the workplace." Jackson's claims were originally filed in December 2012
Deen's spokeswoman, Elana Weiss Rose, said in a statement that the chef was pleased with the judge's dismissal of the racial bias claim.
"As Ms. Deen has stated before, she is confident that those who truly know how she lives her life know that she believes in equal opportunity, kindness and fairness for everyone," she said.
The dismissal of Jackson's case against Deen did not affect the former manager's sexual harassment claims on Deen's brother, Earl W. Hiers. According to the USA Today, Jackson has accused Hiers of making inappropriate remarks and displaying pornography while she worked for him.
According to USA Today, the lawsuit against Deen has already cost the celebrity cook a valuable chunk of her culinary empire.
In May, the 66-year-old chef, admitted to having used racial slurs in the past. A transcript of the legal deposition became public in June, and the backlash against Deen caused the Food Network and other corporate sponsors, such as Target and business partners to drop her. Her publisher, Random House's Ballantine Books, canceled her forthcoming cookbook.
Deen apologized for her remarks multiple times online and on TV.
"I beg you," Deen said in the video. "I beg for your forgiveness."
According to USA Today, David E. Johnson, CEO of Strategic Vision, a public relations and branding agency based in Suwanee, Ga., said the legal development is too little, too late.
"The story only reinforced the idea that Deen is not the sweet lady we thought she was," Johnson said.
"It's death by 1,000 cuts," he said. "You get one thing to go away but you still have others popping up it seems almost simultaneously." One aspect of the lawsuit may be gone, "but where there's smoke, there's usually fire."
