Post by 🦍MAXX＞ⓤ on Oct 15, 2022 18:41:16 GMT -5
After a Black worker complained about a co-worker calling him a racial slur, the HR director defended the use of the slur — saying it was taken “the wrong way” and went on to harass him, according to a new federal lawsuit.
The former HR director for Bartow County, Georgia ordered the pair to shake hands, telling the worker to “forgive and forget,” court documents state. This took place during a meeting about the worker’s complaint.
However, he refused to shake hands with his co-worker and was fired two weeks later along with his brother-in-law, who is also Black and worked for the county, the Justice Department says.
Now the Justice Department is accusing Bartow County of race discrimination and retaliation against both men who were fired from their positions within the county’s road department, according to a news release. The department filed its lawsuit on Oct. 13.
McClatchy News contacted the county and its road department for comment on Oct. 14 and was awaiting a response.
“No one should be forced to labor in an environment where employers condone racial slurs and employees are expected to tolerate them,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, of the Northern District of Georgia, said in a statement.
The worker and his brother-in-law first filed discrimination charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the release. After the agency’s Atlanta office investigated their complaints, it found “reasonable cause” that Bartow County possibly violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and referred the charges to the Justice Department.
The case
The worker was employed by the Bartow County Road Department, which is in charge of county roads, from 2009 until he was fired in 2019, according to court documents. While working there, he was continuously promoted until reaching the position of a “mechanic II”.
His brother-in-law began working part-time for the department in 2016 before getting promoted to a full-time worker after a few months, a complaint states.
www.yahoo.com/news/black-worker-fired-told-forgive-165215238.html
The former HR director for Bartow County, Georgia ordered the pair to shake hands, telling the worker to “forgive and forget,” court documents state. This took place during a meeting about the worker’s complaint.
However, he refused to shake hands with his co-worker and was fired two weeks later along with his brother-in-law, who is also Black and worked for the county, the Justice Department says.
Now the Justice Department is accusing Bartow County of race discrimination and retaliation against both men who were fired from their positions within the county’s road department, according to a news release. The department filed its lawsuit on Oct. 13.
McClatchy News contacted the county and its road department for comment on Oct. 14 and was awaiting a response.
“No one should be forced to labor in an environment where employers condone racial slurs and employees are expected to tolerate them,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan, of the Northern District of Georgia, said in a statement.
The worker and his brother-in-law first filed discrimination charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the release. After the agency’s Atlanta office investigated their complaints, it found “reasonable cause” that Bartow County possibly violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and referred the charges to the Justice Department.
The case
The worker was employed by the Bartow County Road Department, which is in charge of county roads, from 2009 until he was fired in 2019, according to court documents. While working there, he was continuously promoted until reaching the position of a “mechanic II”.
His brother-in-law began working part-time for the department in 2016 before getting promoted to a full-time worker after a few months, a complaint states.
www.yahoo.com/news/black-worker-fired-told-forgive-165215238.html
