Texas Hostile Work Environment Lawsuit

In a September 9, 2009 Press Release at http://www.eeoc.gov/press/9-9-09a.html , the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (”EEOC”) announced that an oilfield service company based in Alice, Texas will pay $60,000.00 and furnish other relief to settle a race, national origin and retaliation discrimination lawsuit filed by EEOC attorneys in the Southern District of Texas.  According to the EEOC Press Release, agency attorneys charged in the federal lawsuit that the company’s Hispanic supervisors discriminated against a parts department employee because of his race (Caucasian) and national origin (non-Hispanic) and then fired him for complaining.  As stated in the Press Release, the company subjected the employee to harassment, a hostile work environment, and disparate terms and conditions of employment because he is not Latino.  EEOC attorneys claimed as well that the company further violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by unlawfully retaliating against the employee when it allegedly fired him after he complained to Human Resources.  In this regard, the EEOC is a federal agency which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, including race and national origin discrimination.  An EEOC trial attorney was quoted in the lawsuit settlement Press Release as saying “A continuously hostile environment that is permeated with degrading name calling makes it very difficult for anyone to want to come to work.”  Another attorney in the EEOC’s Dallas office added that “Even in rough-and-tumble workplaces like the oilfields, there are effective ways of educating supervisory personnel on how to promote mutual respect between crew members.”  Further information about the EEOC is available in the agency’s website at www.eeoc.gov .

Whether employment related race and national origin discrimination occurs in Alice, Corpus Christi, Dallas or elsewhere in Texas, victims of workplace discrimination may contact the EEOC and an attorney to determine if a hostile work environment discrimination lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential discrimination claim.