The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including workplace racial harassment and retaliation for complaining about it.  On December 31, 2009, EEOC lawyers announced that a Memphis radioactive waste processing company will pay $650,000 to 23 African American employees and provide other relief to settle a race and retaliation discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC in the Western District of Tennessee.  See, http://www.eeoc.gov.eeoc/newsroom/release/12-31-09a.cfm .  According to the EEOC’s lawsuit against Race, LLC doing business as Studsvik, LLC, a lead worker in the Studsvik shop and other African American employees were subjected to racially offensive comments by their white supervisor.  In addition, EEOC lawyers charged that the lead worker’s supervisor regularly referred to him and other African American employees with the N-word and other derogatory slurs, such as “boy.”  Moreover, white managers allegedly subjected the lead worker and other African American employees to excessive radiation exposure, more than their white co-workers.  As stated in the press release, EEOC lawyers further contended that the lead worker was suspended for 15 days and then laid off in retaliation for complaining about the racial harassment.  An EEOC lawyer with the agency’s Memphis District Office was quoted in the press release, saying, in part, that “Racial harassment remains a longstanding problem in the workplace for many minorities.”  EEOC Acting Chair Stuart Ishimaru added that “Some of the discrimination alleged in this case is unusually extreme because of the physical danger it created for African American employees.” 

Additional information about the EEOC and the federal laws it enforces may be found online in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether employment related racial harassment and retaliation occurs in Memphis or elsewhere, victims of racial harassment may contact the EEOC and a lawyer to determine if an employment discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential racial harassment case.

WSOCTV.com posted a February 15, 2010 article regarding a North Carolina lawsuit filed on behalf of 12 current and former AAA Carolinas employees. According to WSCOTV.com, the plaintiffs allege that they were denied promotions and subjected to racial and sexual slurs by managers at AAA.  See, http://www.wsoctv.com , “Lawsuit Alleges Racial, Sexual Discrimination At AAA Carolinas,” 2/15/10.  As further stated in the article, the discrimination lawsuit also claims those managers favored white employees over African-American.  WSOCTV.com reports in the article that Eric Greene said he was demoted after complaining about being called “boy” and having to endure racial jokes, adding that, after filing a complaint with the EEOC, he got an anonymous letter saying: “You better drop those charges with the EEOC because if you don’t, something will happen to you and your family.”  In this regard, Greene claims his car was stolen and set on fire that same day.  For its own part, AAA issued a statement denying the allegations and stating it would vigorously defend itself in court. 

The EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including employer retaliation for complaining about and opposing unlawful racial and sexual discrimination.  Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .   

Whether illegal employment related racial and sexual discrimination, as well as retaliation for complaining about it, occurs in Beaumont, Conroe, Houston or elsewhere, victims of employment discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a racial or sexual discrimination and retaliation lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential discrimination case.

In a press release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-22-10.cfm , a trial attorney with the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) comments that racial harassment in the workplace will not be tolerated, adding “Discrimination is not a joke - it’s a violation of federal law.”  In this regard, the EEOC’s February 22, 2010 press release announces the filing of a racial harassment lawsuit in which  federal agency attorneys charge that a party rental company violated federal law by subjecting black employees to a racially hostile work environment.  According to the press release, the EEOC lawsuit alleges that a driver and warehouse employee, as well as other African American employees, were repeatedly subjected to unwelcome derogatory racial comments and slurs, including epithets such as the “N-word,” as well as racial jokes, by one of the company owners.  EEOC attorneys further assert in the case that complaints were made but the harassment continued. 

In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including workplace racial harassment.  EEOC attorneys filed the hostile work environment lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Title VII makes it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because of race.  EEOC attorneys filed the racial harassment lawsuit after the EEOC first attempted to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement. 

Whether an employer creates a racially hostile workplace in Beaumont, Conroe, Houston or elsewhere, victims of employment related racial harassment may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a hostile work environment lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential employment discrimination claim.

In a press release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/2-16-10.cfm , U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) attorneys announced the settlement of the EEOC’s race harassment and discrimination lawsuit against the nation’s largest broadline closeout retailer.  The settlement includes total monetary relief of $400,000 to be paid to at least five employees along with a group of unidentified class members.  The company also agreed to a two-year consent decree that calls for the implementation of new policy, training, procedures and court monitoring to address harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

According to the press release, EEOC attorneys filed the race harassment lawsuit in 2008, alleging that the company violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it subjected a black maintenance mechanic and other black employees to race harassment and discrimination at a California distribution center.  As further stated in the press release, EEOC attorneys contended that an immediate supervisor and co-workers, all Hispanic, made racially derogatory jokes, comments, slurs and epithets, but the company took no steps to prevent or correct it, despite learning of the harassment. 

In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including workplace racial harassment.  In Fiscal Year 2009, the EEOC reportedly received 33,579 charges alleging race-based discrimination, accounting for about 36% of the agency’s private sector caseload.  Historically, race-based charges have been one of the most frequent types of filings with EEOC offices nationwide.  Additional information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether workplace race harassment and discrimination occurs in Beaumont, Galveston, Port Arthur or elsewhere, victims may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a race harassment lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential employment discrimination claim.

United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) attorneys announced settlement of an employment discrimination lawsuit against Albertsons, LLC, a national grocery store chain, according to a December 2009 EEOC press release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/12-15-09,cfm .  As stated in the press release, Albertsons, LLC will pay $8.9 million and furnish other relief to settle three employment discrimination lawsuits in which EEOC attorneys charged the company with race, color, and national origin discrimination and retaliation at its Aurora, Colorado distribution center.  The monetary relief will be distributed among 168 former and current employees.

The first lawsuit was filed in 2006 and alleged a pattern or practice of workplace harassment and discrimination based on race, color and national origin.  According to that lawsuit, minority employees were repeatedly subjected to derogatory comments and graffiti, including racial and ethnic slurs, depictions of lynchings, swastikas, and white supremacist and anti-immigrant statements.  Some of the graffiti allegedly remained for years until the restroom was remodeled in 2005.  In the second lawsuit, EEOC attorneys alleged a pattern or practice of retaliation.  A third lawsuit filed in 2008 claimed race discrimination on behalf of a single African American employee at the distribution center who was fired.

An EEOC attorney quoted in the press release said that the graffiti was particularly shocking.  In addition, the attorney commented as follows: “These cases presented the EEOC with some of the most egregious examples of race, color, and national origin discrimination the agency has seen in years.”  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including discrimination based upon race, color and national origin.  Further information about the EEOC may be found at www.eeoc.gov . 

Whether race, color and national origin employment discrimination and retaliation occurs in Conroe, Houston, Texas City or elsewhere, victims of workplace harassment may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a workplace harassment lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential employment discrimination claim.

Without admitting guilt, a Beaumont City Attorney announced that Beaumont’s City Council approved a $65,000 racial discrimination lawsuit settlement, according to a Beaumont Enterprise posting.  See, http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/local/beaumont_pays_65_000_to_settle_ex-officer_s_suit.html . 

As stated in the January 27, 2010 posting, the mediated settlement goes to a former Beaumont Police Officer who filed an employment discrimination lawsuit in October, alleging he faced retaliation and harassment after writing a letter to a captain asking to be reassigned to a different sergeant.  The police officer claimed his supervisor retaliated by making false allegations that made the officer the subject of an internal affairs investigation.  In addition, he claimed that another sergeant twice inserted the initials “KKK” into his last name on a shift lineup list.  The sergeants remain employed with the Beaumont Police Department, and, according to the Beaumont City Attorney, the settlement amount is based on the City cutting its losses by assessing how much it would cost the City if the case had gone to trial. 

In Texas, the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (TWCCRD) enforces the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act; which has been codified into Texas Labor Code, Chapter 21.  The Texas Labor Code prohibits certain forms of employment discrimination, including racial discrimination and retaliation for complaining about it.  In this regard, the TWCCRD enforces these state laws.  For its own part, the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal laws prohibiting employment related racial discrimination and retaliation for complaining about it.  More information about the TWCCRD may be found at http://www,twc.state.tx.us/crd/file_emp.html and further information about the EEOC and the federal laws it enforces may be found at www.eeoc.gov .

Whether employment related racial discrimination and retaliation occurs in Beaumont or elsewhere in Texas, victims may contact the TWCCRD and the EEOC, as well as a lawyer, to determine if an employment discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential race discrimination claim.

Lawyers with the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Memphis Office have resolved a Memphis race discrimination lawsuit against Memphis Goodwill Industries, Inc., a non-profit agency. In an EEOC Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-22-10.cfm , the federal agency announced that the company will pay $105,000 to settle a race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in which EEOC lawyers charged the company with firing a transportation director in retaliation for reporting alleged race discrimination and because of her race, black.  As stated in the January 22, 2010 Press Release, the EEOC also alleged that the vice president of operations chastised a group of African Americans by stating, “This is not the ghetto.”  When the former transportation director complained to the vice president of operations, she received her first written reprimand from him within days and after receiving a second write-up less than 30 days later she was fired.  According to the EEOC Press Release, a white male was hired as manager of transportation after the firing.  An EEOC lawyer in Memphis was quoted in the Press Release as stating, in part, that “Employees must be able to complain about practices which they believe violate the law without fear of retribution.”

In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including racial discrimination and retaliation for reporting it.  More information about the EEOC is available in its website at www.eeoc.gov .

Lawyers with the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in a January 14, 2010 Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-14-10.cfm that a car dealership will pay $140,000 to settle a race discrimination lawsuit brought by the EEOC.  According to the Press Release, EEOC lawyers charged in the case that a car dealership allowed a white male management consultant to subject an African American sales manager to a racially hostile work environment over a four month period.  As stated in Press Release, the white consultant visited the car dealership three to four times a week and never missed an opportunity to make racially derogatory comments towards the black sales manager.  The sales manager was allegedly subjected to humiliating and degrading comments every time the consultant visited the dealership and almost always in the presence of other people.  The EEOC Press Release further states that after the black sales manager complained about the derogatory comments, two white managers asked the consultant to stop his discriminatory behavior, but the consultant ignored their requests to cease and continued to make derogatory comments.  In the suit and consent decree, the company denied any liability or wrongdoing.

Whether workplace racial harassment occurs in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of race discrimination may contact the EEOC and a lawyer to determine if an employment discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential racial harassment claim.

Title II of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandates the full and equal enjoyment of rights in places of public accommodation regardless of race, color, religion or national origin, and enforcement of Title II is a priority of the U. S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (DOJ).  In this regard, DOJ attorneys issued a Press Release at http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2010/January/10-crt-033.html on January 13, 2010, announcing that the DOJ filed a lawsuit against a Pennsylvania country club, accusing the club of engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race or color.  According to the Press Release, DOJ attorneys charge in the discrimination lawsuit that the club adopted a racially discriminatory policy to bar summer camps from using its facility after a group of predominantly African-American school children visited the facility.  The DOJ’s lawsuit seeks to obtain injunctive relief under Title II to remedy such discrimination by changing policies and practices.  An Assistant Attorney General quoted in the Press Release stated, in part, that “[d]enying African-American children entry to a swimming pool because of the color of their skin is a deplorable violation of this nation’s civil rights laws.”

Additional information about the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division is available on the DOJ’s website which can be found at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt .  Further, persons with information or complaints about discriminatory practices at public facilities may call the DOJ at 1-800-896-7743, ext. 997.

Whether civil rights violations in places of public accommodation occurs in Texas or elsewhere, victims may contact the DOJ or an attorney to determine if a civil rights lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential civil rights violation claim.

The U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including race discrimination which violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  In this regard, EEOC lawyers announced in a January 8, 2010 Press Release that a Cleveland automobile dealership will pay $85,000 and furnish other relief to settle a race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit.  According to the EEOC Press Release, EEOC lawyers charged in the case that since 2007 the automobile dealership subjected a class of African Americans to different terms and conditions of employment and a hostile work environment on the basis of race.  In the EEOC Press Release found at http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/8-1-10.cfm , the federal agency claimed further that the discriminatory conduct included racial epithets and also involved management making sales team assignments based upon race.  In addition, EEOC lawyers alleged that an individual was retaliated against after he complained about the unlawful discrimination.

Further information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov .

Whether unlawful employment related race discrimination and retaliation for complaining about it occurs in Texas or elsewhere, victims of workplace racial discrimination may contact the EEOC and a lawyer to determine whether an employment discrimination lawsuit is ultimately appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential harassment claim.