Image: iStockphoto
A Tampa-based environmental clean-up company, WRS Environment and Infrastructure (a.k.a. WRS Compass), has settled a racial discrimination case for $2.75 million with 11 employees. The suit was brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which alleged that the company subjected seven black employees in Lake Calumet, I.L. to repeated harassment in the form of hanging nooses, use of the “N-word,” poor work assignments and even physical threats. Two of the workers who complained were sacked.
The harassment went beyond African-Americans, with slurs (“n****r lover,” for instance) and threats of physical violence allegedly hurled at four white employees, according to Business Insurance.
In addition to the monetary settlement, the company must revise its anti-discrimination policies and train employees on the new rules.
A couple of other companies have recently become embroiled in discrimination lawsuits. Clothing retailer Wet Seal has been accused of firing black employees because they didn’t fit the company’s “brand image.” And the owner perfume retailer Bond No. 9 has been accused of discriminatory practices. This link will take you to the EEOC page, which offers an overview of what racial discrimination is and how to file a complaint. This link discusses sex discrimination. And this one discusses pregnancy discrimination.
More on Madame Noire Business!
- Microloans Providing an Alternative Resource for Small Businesses
- Karen Duckett Built Her Architecture Firm, Duckett Design Group, One Brick At A Time
- Why Does Hampton University Dread Locs? Business School Bans Cornrows and Dread Locs for Male Students
- Brandy, Pick It Up: Old Content Strategies Don’t Cut It Anymore
- How to Start a Business In… Newark, N.J.
- Here are the Five Highest Paying Jobs You Don’t Need a Bachelor’s Degree to Do
