Lawyer Says Beaumont Race Discrimination Lawsuit Settled

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.