Texas employees benefit from being aware of their rights when in a company’s employ. Discrimination can take many forms, and, no matter how overt or covert, co-workers simply do not have the right to deliberately demoralize fellow employees. As the employee and acting supervisor of one large supermarket chain in Texas recently found out, verbal assault on an employee is not tolerated.
A 25-year-old man filed a lawsuit against the Kroger supermarket chain. He alleged harassment and discrimination stemming from his mental disability. The man worked at Kroger for five years, and the name calling and yelling started just one week relocating to a new store location in Plano.
The victim’s father recalled his frustration in hearing of the explicit name calling. Often, the manager was said to engage in blatant yelling right on the floor of the supermarket, in plain sight of the customers. The effects of this treatment on the victim were detrimental. The father complained that his son has lost a lot of the confidence he gained while working on the job.
Kroger is currently evaluating its options, and given its stated dissatisfaction with the jury verdict against the company, may attempt an appeal. Nonetheless, after hearing four days of evidence, a jury appears to have believed the allegations made by the plaintiff. The victim was awarded $450,000 in damages, and he and his father are hoping that this sends a message to other employees in Texas that this pernicious and wrongful form of discrimination is unacceptable in the workplace.
Source: KHOU.COM, Mentally-challenged employee wins $450K discrimination suit, Steve Stoler, Oct. 1, 2013
