Black worker was forced to endure racial slurs — and fired for reporting it, feds say
A Black man was forced to work with employees who used racial slurs against him before he was fired, federal officials said.
Now the nonprofit must pay thousands to settle the race discrimination and retaliation lawsuit.
The worker was part of a grounds crew for Skils’kin at Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, when he was called racial slurs by co-workers, according to a Monday, Sept. 12 news release from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He was the only Black employee on the crew.
Skils’kin is a nonprofit organization that “provides employment services to adults with disabilities.” It has services in Washington, Montana, Oklahoma and Wyoming
The nonprofit did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
After the worker reported the racial slurs to the company, Skils’kin is accused of assigning the man to work directly under the employees who called him the names, the EEOC release says.
The worker’s complaints continued to be ignored, and then he was fired, officials said. He had worked with the company for multiple years.
Federal officials ordered the company to pay the man $100,000, saying it violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects workers from discrimination, race harassment and retaliation.
To settle the lawsuit, Skils’kin has to update its race discrimination and non-retaliation polices and post an anti-discrimination notice, the release says.
Title VII training will also be required.
In addition, the nonprofit will be required to give reports to the EEOC “detailing its compliance with the terms of the decree and its receipt of any complaints of race discrimination.”
“It is the unfortunate reality that race discrimination still plagues many workplaces, including in Wyoming,” regional attorney of the EEOC’s Phoenix District Mary Jo O’Neill said in the release. “In 2021, 27.3% of all charges of discrimination filed in Wyoming included a race claim. The EEOC will continue to take legal action to root out such conduct.”
This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Black worker was forced to endure racial slurs — and fired for reporting it, feds say."
