Texas agency faces racial discrimination claims

On Behalf of | Jun 20, 2013 | Employment Disputes |

It has been noted that only one percent of the employees with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) that are game wardens are black. Additionally, two racial discrimination complaints have been filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. These facts have led to an ever increasing concern that the TPWD is biased against certain races.

 

The first complaint was filed by a white game warden. He claimed that supervisors told him to “distance himself” from a coworker that was black. The EEOC has since given this game warden permission to file a lawsuit in federal court regarding his allegations. The second complaint was filed by a black woman hired to be a game warden. She filed the complaint while in training alleging that she was mistreated and believes it was because of her race.

As it turns out, over 75 percent of the game wardens with the TPWD are white males. Only 65 of the roughly 500 game wardens are Hispanic, 40 are women and 13 are black. The TPWD hired an independent reviewer that ended up advising the agency to hire and promote more minorities, noting this was a “substantial” deficiency in the agency.

 

Texas businesses and government agencies alike are forbidden by federal and state laws to deny someone employment or promotions based upon their race, gender or age, among other things. No employee or applicant has to put up with this type of discrimination. If someone believes their employment opportunities have been curtailed based on a factor such as race, that person has the right to file a complaint against the employer.

 

Source: chron.com, “Racism allegations hit Texas parks agency,” Paul J. Weber, June 6, 2013

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