Racially discriminating against employees in Indiana is a federal violation for which an employer may be held legally accountable. One woman in another state recently claimed that employees at the company for which she worked, Fiat Chrysler Automobile, engaged in race discrimination against her. She has thus filed a lawsuit against the company.
The woman, who is black, said the employees with whom she worked used a monkey several times to poke fun at her race between 2004 and 2015; for instance, they draped a monkey over the wall of her cubicle. The woman said at one point, a monkey that was placed in her cubicle area had Christmas lights wrapped around it, and the lights resembled a noose. She said a co-worker had also asked her on one occasion if her breastmilk tasted like chocolate milk and asked if she resided in the ghetto.
All the while, the company’s management allegedly ignored the racist behaviors and failed to do anything to curb them. The woman said the company allowed the environment to be hostile toward her, calling her co-worker’s discriminatory acts horrific. As part of the suit, the woman included 13 pictures of the reported monkey incidents. She is pursuing monetary damages along with a jury trial.
Companies are not allowed to treat workers differently on the basis of race, and they may also be held liable for permitting an atmosphere where race discrimination is allowed. If people are victims of workplace discrimination, they have the right to file legal claims against their employers. Remedies from a successfully fought suit may include compensation for emotional harm as well as having one’s out-of-pocket legal expenses covered in Indiana.
Source: dailytribune.com, “Woman sues Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for alleged racial discrimination after series of monkey incidents“, Paul Kampe, Nov. 2, 2015
