Corrections sergeant asks Supreme Court to protect workers from racial hostility

Washington, DC; September 8, 2026: A former Colorado corrections sergeant asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to review his lawsuit challenging mandatory workplace training that blamed employees for oppression based on their race. Joshua Young alleges that the Colorado Department of Corrections’ training violated his civil rights by creating a hostile work environment and forcing him to endure race-based condemnation as a condition of employment.

“No one should have to submit to government-sponsored racial hostility before civil rights law will protect them,” said Glenn Roper, a senior attorney with Pacific Legal Foundation. “Public employers must treat people as individuals. Joshua deserves the freedom to build his career without being forced to work in a hostile environment created by government-mandated trainings.”

Young spent seven years at Colorado’s Limon Correctional Facility, earning two promotions after joining the Department in 2017. But his career was derailed after the Department required employees to complete Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion training that described race as a concept created by white people to oppress others and stated that white people perpetuate white supremacy. When Young objected through the Department’s complaint process, officials refused to investigate, and he resigned shortly afterward.

The petition asks the Supreme Court to make clear that an employer-mandated training can violate an individual’s civil rights. A victory would protect Young and other workers from being told they must endure repeated race-based hostility before the law will protect them.

Pacific Legal Foundation represents Young free of charge. The case is Joshua Young v. Colorado Department of Corrections.