A Boeing employee recently filed a lawsuit alleging the company retaliated against him when he reported incidents of racial discrimination.
Curtis Anthony, an African-American employee at Boeing, filed a federal lawsuit against the aviation company over allegations he was racially discriminated against when “his coworkers hung a noose over his desk.” Additionally, the suit claims Anthony’s colleagues “at the North Charleston, South Carolina, Boeing plant also used the n-word and urinated on his desk.” As a result, his suit claims he suffered “discrimination on the basis of race, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violations of the Family Medical Leave Act, and breach of contract.”
Prior to filing the suit, Anthony said he first went to his supervisors and members of the management team to voice his complaints. During those meetings, he was told his complaints would be taken care of, but nothing was ever done, allegedly. When speaking about his experiences, Anthony said:
“I hope that this shouldn’t be tolerated in America at this day and time. This is not 1819, this is 2019. Regardless of color, people should say something against it and anything that’s harmful against anyone.”
According to his suit, Anthony has been working as a quality inspector for Boeing since May 2011. However, the alleged discrimination and harassment didn’t begin until May 2017. Around that time, his co-workers, who were mostly Caucasian, “began to engage in ‘intentionally extreme and outrageous’ harassment…including Caucasian workers urinating in his seat and on his work desk numerous times and using the n-word on a daily basis.”
As a result of the harassment, Anthony began suffering from mental anguish and emotional distress. It eventually began affecting him so badly that he “went on medical leave to receive treatment for the extreme stress he suffered as a result of the hostile treatment.” The harassment reached new heights when he arrived at his work desk one morning in March 2019 and found a “noose had been placed right over his desk.”
Upon making the discovery, Anthony went to his HR department and managers and filed a report. Shortly after, he went on leave again and is worried that when he returns, “he will be sent to the same hostile work environment,” the suit states.
In addition to the blatant harassment, Anthony’s suit also alleges he was passed over for a variety of promotions “in favor of “lesser qualified Caucasian workers as retaliation for him taking medical leave.”
In response to the allegations, Libba Holland, a spokeswoman with Boeing, said “Anthony is a valued Boeing South Carolina teammate, but there is no validity to his allegations.” She added:
“Moreover, most of Mr. Anthony’s allegations were never brought to the attention of management, giving the company no opportunity to investigate these claims. The single issue he did raise was dealt with promptly and in a fair manner.”
Sources:
A black Boeing employee found a noose over his desk. Now he’s suing the company
Black Boeing employee sues company after finding noose at desk, says ‘my work life is degrading’
Join the conversation!