Most Texas employees know how to conduct themselves in the workplace and maintain a work environment of respect. However, when workers use racial slurs and other foul language against one another and the situation is not rectified, the offended parties may look to the law to remedy their situations. Recently an employee from a cupcake shop in another state claims that he lost his job after reporting what he thought to be discrimination among the workers.
The plaintiff — who happens to be black — alleges that he began to notice a pattern with the way that the non-black workers were being treated. While he was required to shave his beard and wear a hairnet, the white employees were not. When the plaintiff was ill and needed to call off work, he was disciplined, but white employees who were significantly late were not reprimanded.
The man purportedly overheard a white employee making a racist remark about another black employee’s appearance. He claims he brought up what he had heard at a staff meeting and suggested that everyone should go through racial sensitivity training to prevent these things from being said. The store manager apparently did not go forward with his suggestion.
The entire situation came to a climax when the plaintiff was approached by one of his female black co-workers who was upset that she had been called a highly offensive racial slur. Once again he broached the situation at a staff meeting, but the meeting became intense, which left the plaintiff feeling ill. He lost his job three days later. The plaintiff, who resides in Texas now, was given approval by the Missouri Commission on Human Rights to sue the bakery for discrimination and is seeking $25,000 for his case.
Source: rawstory.com, “Black cupcake shop employee fired for complaining about fellow employee using N-word: lawsuit“, Tom Boggioni, July 31, 2015
