14-05-2025
Morton Salt to pay $75K for unfair treatment of laborer at Rittman facility because he was Black, disabled
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CLEVELAND (WJW) — Morton Salt has been ordered to pay $75,000 to settle a retaliation and discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for discriminating against a Black worker.
The commission found the company unfairly treated, then improperly fired, a laborer at its Rittman facility because he was Black and disabled, and because he had lodged a discrimination complaint, according to a Tuesday news release from the commission.
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The commission handed down a two-year consent decree through which the company must give the worker $15,000 in back pay and benefits and $60,000 in compensation for his damages and also train employees on the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protect against such discrimination.
The complaint was filed in September 2024, federal court records show.
It alleged the man was mentored by a white employee who had a reported history dating back years of using racial and gender-specific slurs. That worker was terminated in June 2019 for creating a hostile work environment, but was reinstated a little more than a week later.
Morton hired the complainant in May 2022. During a training in July 2022, he reportedly endured racially charged comments from the trainer, which were reported to human resources soon after. A high-level manager named in the complaint chose not to investigate, and no action was taken, according to the complaint.
The very next day, the complainant received an 'unsatisfactory' evaluation from a supervisor alleging attendance issues and referencing an 'altercation' with his trainer. The commission deemed it to be unlawful retaliation.
The following August, the complainant claimed someone had tampered with his vehicle's brakes, believing it was done by the trainer or someone supporting him, according to the complaint. He requested security footage from the company, which was never provided. The next day, the complainant was involuntarily transferred to another work area.
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Later that month, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation notified Morton Salt that the complainant was scheduled for an independent examination to determine whether he had permanent partial impairment due to injuries he suffered at a previous job.
The complainant's supervisor, in an email that day to a manager, 'expressed concerns or reservations' about the man continuing to work at Morton Salt in light of his impairment, according to the complaint. Morton Salt fired the complainant the following September. After learning he had complained to the EEOC, executives opted not to reinstate him.
Morton Salt manufactures and distributes salt at more than 20 facilities across the country, including in Lake and Wayne counties, according to the complaint — the latter of which is where the Rittman facility is located.
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