Regardless of a person’s personal appearance, gender or religion, he or she has the right to the same protocols in the workplace as anyone else. When employers put procedures in place for workers to follow, all of the employee’s should be doing the exact same thing. If one Texas employee is not given the same directives and rights as all of the others, that employee may have been the victim of workplace discrimination.
Two employees at Integrated Process Resources Inc., are accusing their employer of wrongful termination and retaliation. The technicians were working for their employer when they claim that all of the employees needed to take a benzene test as part of their employment. However, when the plaintiffs tried to obtain the tests, they were allegedly told that there weren’t any tests ready to take. Because they did not take them as condition of their employment, they claim that they were terminated.
The men that attempted to take the tests were black. According to their complaint, two white employees also did not take the benzene test, but they were allowed to go somewhere else to take it. The black employees were terminated and not told that they could have gone somewhere else to take the test.
The technicians filed a lawsuit against their employer and are looking to be reinstated into their positions. They are also looking for back pay and for damages. Texas employees who feel that they have been the victim of discrimination can seek to file a claim against their employers. If such claims are successful, workers may receive back pay and possibly be returned to their former position.
Source: The Southeast Texas Record, “Integrated Process Resources sued over racial discrimination“, Annie Cosby, March 22, 2014
