Should I fire my employee for racist joke?

That all depends. Is he a good socialist that longs for the downfall of the American way of life or is he a racist con? if he is a good socialist that longs for the downfall of the American way of life nothing and mean NOTHING he ever does may be considered to be wrong so you should give this poor man a raise you Nazi scum but if he is a racist con you need to fire him immediately because he is always being racist!

Why fire him for one slip?

The fact that he was probably drunk when he said what he said is no excuse and it appears to me that it is likely that he IS a racist.

However, I believe you should call him into your office remind him of what he said about the black person and issue him a written warning that if he shows any signs of being a racist again he will be instantly dismissed.

He is likely to semi deny what he said because of the drink he had had but the fact that he said it (drunk or sober) but can't remember is neither here nor there.

I would also keep a sharp eye on him to make sure he is not showing any racism in the workplace.

You can sympathise with him about the fact that he has personal problems but that is still no excuse for racism.

I would fire him.

thats not racism....making fun of a person for the way they dress and not for the color of their skin....

chalk it up to the booze and his personal situation. It wasn't on company time or at the company so you don't have a case anyway..

Definitely fire him.

You consider that racist? Seriously?