Latest news with #workplacediscrimination
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Comparing workplace conditions to slavery is racial harassment, tribunal rules
A black warehouse worker won a race harassment claim after a colleague graffitied 'slave' in reference to their working conditions. An employment tribunal ruled that Seedy Fofana was entitled to £3,000 compensation after he saw a graffiti of the word 'slave', which 'violated' his dignity. The intended use of the word was nothing to do with race but was an expression of another staff member's frustration at being 'over-worked and under paid', the tribunal heard. 'Violating dignity' Employment Judge David Hughes concluded that even though the colleague 'did not intend to write a graffito that related to race', the term slave does 'evoke in contemporary English speakers the enslavement of black people'. He added: 'Mr Fofana, an evidently-proud black man, feels the evil of slavery viscerally. That is understandable and respectable. We accept his sense of hurt at the graffito is genuine.' He found that 'the graffito did have the effect of violating the [Mr Fofana's] dignity, and creating a hostile, humiliating and offensive environment for him'. The hearing in Bristol was told Mr Fofana was the only black man at Window Widgets in Gloucester, where he started working in September 2023. In August 2022, co-worker Tony Bennett had taken to writing graffiti referencing 'modern slavery' and 'slavery' around the warehouse in protest against the working conditions. The tribunal heard that this included writing the words 'Slave No.' with an arrow pointing to the number three on a forklift-type piece of equipment. Bosses removed all of the graffiti except one they had not spotted, but Mr Fofana saw it in December 2023. He resigned the following month, complaining about the hostile behaviour of staff towards him and then sued the company, claiming £500,000 in compensation. Workplace 'banter' The warehouse had a history of 'banter' within the workplace and several staff had been warned about not crossing a professional boundary, the tribunal heard. One incident saw a colleague sing the songs Bombastic and Iron Lion Zion to Mr Fofana, but they denied any offensive intent. At the tribunal Mr Fofana argued the 'Slave' graffiti caused him to resign, although he admitted he did not report it to anyone, or attempt to remove it himself. He said he had no confidence bosses would investigate properly and that it wasn't his job to clean it up. Employment Judge Hughes said: 'We understand that it was not for him to remove the graffito – why should he clean up someone else's vandalism?' but he added that it could not be removed if no one reported it. He said the company 'cannot be criticised for not addressing a problem of which they were unaware'. Relation to race Upholding Mr Fofana's race harassment claim, he concluded that Mr Bennett wrote the word in August 2022, and did so while employed by Window Widgets. He added: 'It may seem harsh to [the company], but that means that [they] wrote the graffito. 'Equally harsh may seem the conclusion that [Window Widgets] failed to remove a graffito that went unnoticed. But that finding is inevitable. 'We have found that the graffito did relate to race.' However, the tribunal said Mr Fofana's claim for half a million pounds in damages was 'unrealistic'. 'This was a hurtful graffito, but it was one written by a rogue employee, not intended to refer to [his] race, in not prominent writing. 'The [company's] management of the workplace certainly had shortcomings, but we have found that management was not aware of the graffito, and when it learnt of it, took appropriate steps.'
The Guardian
4 days ago
- The Guardian
Black warehouse worker wins £3,000 payout over colleague's ‘slave' graffiti
A Black warehouse worker has won a race harassment claim after a disgruntled colleague wrote the word 'slave' on a piece of machinery. The colleague had meant it not as a racial slur but as an expression of his anger at, as he saw it, being overworked and underpaid, an employment tribunal heard. But the presence of the word in the workplace violated Seedy Fofana's dignity and created a 'hostile, humiliating and offensive environment for him,' the tribunal ruled. Awarding Fofana £3,000 compensation, the employment judge David Hughes concluded that the graffiti did relate to race even though that had not been the intention. Hughes said: 'This is because the term 'slave' will, we find, evoke in contemporary English speakers the enslavement of Black people. All right-thinking people regard slavery as a monstrosity. 'Mr Fofana, an evidently proud Black man, feels the evil of slavery viscerally. That is understandable and respectable. We accept his sense of hurt at the graffito is genuine.' He added: 'The graffito could bear a number of meanings. It could carry the meaning that [the colleague] intended. It might have been understood as a comment on obedient machinery … taking the place of the labour of humans, or on humans' relationship to machines. 'But when one hears the word slavery, English speakers in this jurisdiction in this decade will probably first think of the enslavement of black people by white people.' The hearing in Bristol was told that Fofana was the only Black man at Window Widgets in Gloucester, which deals in plastic and metal parts for windows. Another worker, Tony Bennett, had taken to writing graffiti referencing 'modern slavery' and 'slavery' around the warehouse in protest at working conditions. This included writing the words 'Slave No' with an arrow pointing to the number 3 on a Hubtex machine, which is similar to a forklift truck. Bosses removed all the graffiti created by Bennett except the one on the Hubtex as they had not spotted it, but Fofana saw it during a stock take. He did not report it but resigned the following month complaining about hostile behaviour and sued the company, claiming £500,000 in compensation. The judge said the conclusion that the company had failed to remove a piece of graffiti that it had not seen may be seen as harsh. The judgment said that once the company was made aware of it, it removed it.
Bloomberg
24-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Columbia Will Pay $221 Million to End Trump Clashes
Columbia University will pay a total of $221 million to try and end its multiple clashes with the Trump administration. The Ivy League school in New York City will pay a $200 million penalty to resolve civil rights investigations. Another $21 million settles claims about workplace discrimination against against Jewish faculty and staff. Bloomberg's Liam Knox reports. (Source: Bloomberg)
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Black SpaceX technician says in lawsuit he was fired for being late while white workers' tardiness was ignored
A Black technician at SpaceX was fired for being late to work while caring for his young daughter as she recuperated from a heart transplant, while his white colleagues were given a pass for their own 'consistent tardiness and absences,' according to an eye-popping workplace discrimination lawsuit obtained by The Independent. In a 33-page federal complaint initially filed in Los Angeles and removed to federal court on June 25, L'Tavious Rice says his bosses at the commercial space launch provider were fully aware of his daughter's medical condition, and 'encouraged him to take time off as needed.' Yet, Rice's complaint alleges, the SpaceX Human Resources department soon began ginning up issues with his time-off requests in retaliation for him having agreed, in principle, to testify truthfully about a former supervisor that another employee had accused of wrongdoing in an unrelated incident. Rice, 38, worked as a materials inspector at the SpaceX campus in Hawthorne, California, ensuring the structural integrity of materials such as base metals, welds, structures and assemblies. His complaint also accuses SpaceX of denying him proper meal breaks, and 'expected him to work through lunch.' Rice had no performance issues when SpaceX let him go, the complaint contends, describing the company's treatment of him as 'deliberate, cold, callous, cruel and intentional.' Attorney Stephanie Perez, who is representing Rice, told The Independent that Rice's daughter is now 5, and that she was very young when she had the heart transplant. It requires continual monitoring and checkups, since there is always a chance of organ rejection, Perez said. When Rice's daughter hit a rough patch and was hospitalized for a week right before he was let go, he was still showing up for work, according to Perez. 'He consistently outperformed his white coworkers, but was held to a higher standard,' Perez said. 'Space X turned a blind eye to several white co-workers showing up late, or failing to show up at all. We believe supervisors manipulated time entries to erase co-workers' late clock-ins, concealing the tardiness. The same grace was not extended to Mr. Rice.' SpaceX and the lawyers defending the company against Rice's claims, did not respond to requests for comment. Rice was hired at SpaceX in February 2020, and became a standout worker, according to his complaint. It says Rice was 'consistently complimented for his work ethic, outshining his cohort who appeared less motivated.' The complaint says Rice's daughter suffered from a 'serious' medical condition, which is unspecified in court filings but eventually necessitated a heart transplant. 'After the successful transplant, UCLA Medical Center required continual transplant monitoring, as did her Kaiser Permanente pediatric cardiologist,' the complaint goes on. 'When a fever presented or she fell ill, immediate medical intervention was required to ensure her body was not rejecting the transplant. Given the heart is a vital organ, serious precautions were in place to protect the transplant's vitality.' Rice made his supervisors aware of his daughter's cardiac issues, and they told him to take whatever time off he needed, the complaint continues. He entered his time-off requests into an online portal maintained by SpaceX, and uses a 'point-system' which penalizes employees for tardiness or unexcused absences, according to the complaint. Rice was told that he could also 'let his superior know via text or call' if he anticipated being late, it says. Last year, Rice was called into HR for an interview. There, an HR exec told Rice that his former supervisor had been accused of retaliation against another SpaceX employee, and that he could be called as a witness, according to the complaint. 'HR questioned [Rice] about the various allegations,' the complaint states. '[Rice] answered honestly and advised he believed the supervisor's actions were retaliatory, and intended to be honest if called as a witness should the matter proceed to litigation.' From that point on, HR 'began closely monitoring [Rice's] time-off requests via [SpaceX's online portal] and tardiness (despite having already informed his superior of such tardies) used to for his daughter,' the complaint alleges. 'HR began retaliating against [Rice], implementing strict application of the point system,' it says. 'Interestingly, while HR enforced the point system against [Rice], the point system was not used against his white counterparts. [Rice] observed his white colleagues' consistent tardiness and absences, without points either being applied or remaining on their record. [Rice] then discovered some of SpaceX's supervisors were 'writing off' or 'erasing' such points.' On August 20, 2024, Rice was terminated. 'SpaceX cited the point system as the basis for such termination,' the complaint states. Perez told The Independent that speaking up against large, powerful corporations such as SpaceX 'is a daunting task, but a necessary one.' 'I believe people want to do the right thing,' she said. 'However, when history repeats itself and patterns resurface, it reveals deeper systematic issues.' Rice's daughter is doing better now, but continues to require check-ins and monitoring by her doctor, according to Perez. SpaceX, which is owned by Elon Musk, the erratic billionaire and President Donald Trump's erstwhile ' first buddy,' was sued in May by an employee with Crohn's disease, who claimed his supervisors at the company's Redmond, Washington facility monitored his bathroom breaks and penalized him for spending more than 10 minutes on the toilet. During the Biden administration, the Department of Justice sued SpaceX over its alleged refusal to hire asylum seekers and refugees, a case which the incoming Trump administration dropped in February 2025. In 2023, SpaceX was sued for allegedly underpaying women and minorities, and last year, authorities accused SpaceX of illegally firing eight employees who criticized Musk. On Tuesday, Trump floated the idea of denaturalizing and deporting Musk, a South African-born U.S. citizen who donated $288 million toward the president's victorious 2024 campaign, and stripping SpaceX (and other Musk companies) of their federal contracts. Trump has been lashing out at Musk over his opposition to the GOP's so-called ' big, beautiful bill,' a spending package that, if passed, would all but sink future prospects for the wind and solar industries, wipe out tax incentives for buyers of electric cars, and leave millions without access to healthcare. Rice is seeking special and exemplary damages; at least $500,000 in general damages for emotional and mental distress and aggravation; economic damages for past and future lost wages, bonuses, and benefits; and punitive damages to be determined by a jury, as well as legal fees and court costs.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Banker with fear of dolls sues employer after boss left a Chucky toy on her chair
A former banker with a deep-seated fear of dolls has claimed she has suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ever since her boss left a Chucky toy on her chair. Debra Jones claims in her lawsuit filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina that her supervisors at Truist subjected her to workplace discrimination and created a hostile work environment - causing her emotional and financial harm. Jones had already been diagnosed with major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, autoimmune disorder and vitiligo when she was hired as a full-time relationship banker in April 2024 in Rocky Mount, according to court documents obtained by She claims she suffered discrimination and retaliation at the Charlotte-based bank due to those disabilities, and the Chucky incident caused her to be newly diagnosed with PTSD. Chucky is a fictional character in horror slasher films about a doll possessed by a serial killer. The first film, Child's Play, was released in 1988 and numerous sequels have followed. It all went down in June 2024, during her last week of training, when Jones claims her manager at the time, Matthew Korr, placed 'the doll that kills people' in her chair. She says Korr 'was aware of her fear of dolls and how her fear of dolls negatively affected her disabilities, as Plaintiff had shared this with Korr when he had invited Plaintiff to his home for a team cookout.' When he then saw how Jones reacted, Korr allegedly started to laugh. Immediately after the incident, Jones said she had to be treated by her medical provider - and was placed on eight weeks of medical leave to treat her disabilities. She finally returned to work in August 2024, and was assigned to a new manager, Jennifer Briley, who said she was aware of the Chucky incident and moved Jones to a different office. Yet, Jones said her treatment at the bank became worse as she continued to face mockery, and was subjected to unequal treatment related to her job and her workplace accommodations. 'Plaintiff contends that Plaintiff and her coworkers alike were subjected to making some mistakes, but Plaintiff was treated differently than her coworkers when she made mistakes,' the lawsuit asserts. It also claims Jones had an accommodation to leave work at 3pm three times a week to seek treatment 'for flare-ups that started as a result of the Chucky doll incident.' But Jones said Briley once told her she would have to work until 4pm. Then, after Jones said she discovered a fraudulent check, Briley joked that she was 'always fraudulent vigilant' as supervisors started questioning her need for medical leave and aggressively reprimanded her. By January 29, 2025, the lawsuit says, Tracy Wood - the regional area leader at Truist - told her her accommodation was negatively affecting her coworkers who also needed time off. 'Wood further stated to Plaintiff that Wood did not believe this job was the right fit for Plaintiff and that Plaintiff cannot keep using her anxiety and emotional problems as an excuse,' the federal suit claims. Jones said she suffered several panic attacks in the aftermath, and was ultimately forced out of her job. As a result, Jones says she 'suffered and will continue to suffer emotional pain and suffering, inconvenience, embarrassment [and] mental anguish.' She now argues that Truist bank is liable for the actions of its supervisors and employers - or is at least liable for its negligent supervision, and even though her managers are named in the suit, they are not listed as defendants. Jones is seeking a jury trial with compensatory damages for her emotional pain, backpay and reinstatement.
