*Some of California’s largest discrimination cases center on Black employees at warehouses being mistreated by their Latino co-workers.
The state recently settled a series of lawsuits with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
“We are seeing an increase in larger race harassment cases,” Anna Park, regional attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Los Angeles district office, told The Los Angeles Times. “The nature of them has gotten uglier. There’s a more blatant display of hatred with the N-word, with imagery, with nooses. All the violence you’re seeing in the news, it is manifesting in the employment context.”
One of the lawsuits involved Medical supplier Cardinal Health and transportation giant Ryder Integrated Logistics, both located in California’s Inland Empire, FOX News reports. Supervisors at both companies are accused of ignoring complaints from Black workers about being racially harassed by Latino and white employees. Both companies reportedly settled EEOC lawsuits in 2021.
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“‘Hey, monkey! Yeah, you!’ and waved a banana in her hand. A group of women burst out laughing,” Benjamin Watkins told the LA Times of what a Latina co-worker said to him at a Moreno Valley warehouse.
“When they look you right in the eye and call you the N-word to your face, that’s dehumanizing,” a Black Ontario warehouse employee, Leon Simmons, told the outlet.
The complainants allege they were denied promotions and more often received labor-intensive jobs compared to non-Black employees. They also faced retaliation from Latino and White supervisors if they complained about the racial harassment, according to the court filings reviewed by the LA Times.
According to reports, about 300 Black workers will receive compensation from the settlements. The multi-million dollar payouts are the largest in California over the last decade related to racial discrimination.
Cardinal will reportedly pay $1.45 million and Ryder agreed to pay $1 million, according to Fox News. Ryder’s staffing service, Kimco, will also pay $1 million and Cardinal’s staffing agency, AppleOne, will implement harassment training.
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