Man was choked, taunted at work wins $1 million abuse case

[Catherine Vincent]

March 22, 2006, 9:02AM
Conroe firm pays $1 million to settle race abuse case
Man said he was choked, taunted at work

By L.M. SIXEL
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

A black laborer for a pipe company in Conroe who contends white co-workers subjected him to racial epithets and choked him with a hangman's noose has won a $1 million settlement from his former employer.

"I find it very hard to believe that in 2006 we're finding incidents like this in the workplace," said Cari M. Dominguez, the chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who was visiting Houston Tuesday on other business.

The settlement, which stems from a lawsuit filed by the EEOC in 2003, is the largest single award the agency has won for an individual in its history, Dominguez said.

Commercial Coating Services denies the allegations in the consent decree, which was approved Monday by U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison and announced by the EEOC on Tuesday. A company representative referred all calls for comment to the company's lawyer, who did not return telephone calls.

more. . .
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3739826.html

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It's hard to believe that company officials said this was just horsing around among their employees. And the article didn't state if there was any reprimand of the employees involved in the taunting or the incident.

[Bake]

1. I'm SURE it was all in good clean fun ...

Like a frat prank.

:sarcasm:

Bake

[triakis36]

2. That's just sick

Would it still be a joke if they killed him!?

[newyawker99]

12. Hi triakis36!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[MadMaddie]

3. This kind of incident is on the rise in the country....

The good news freaks at Fauxnews won't report on racial discrimination issues...they will write off the taunting as guys just having fun.....

Under this administrations more cases have been turned down instead of being investigated.....Katrina...and the list goes on.....

Blacks in America have known this all along.....

[CrispyQ]

4. I'm sure it's no worse than the fraternity pranks at Abu Gharib.

:sarcasm:

[MadMaddie]

5. Oh and don't forget the church burning pranks down south...

just college kids out drinking and burning down churches for fun.....just got out of hand!!

[GOPFighter]

6. "I find it hard to believe..."

"I find it very hard to believe that in 2006 we're finding incidents like this in the workplace," said Cari M. Dominguez, the chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, who was visiting Houston Tuesday on other business.

I don't. My wife is African American, and I've been witness to plenty of bigotry and racism, especially from low-life insecure jerks. I'm pleased (and surprised) the black employee won the case. Good for him. He won't have to work there anymore.

[BlooInBloo]

7. ROFL! Only a non-black person could say that...

"I find it very hard to believe that in 2006 we're finding incidents like this in the workplace,"

lol

It's part of the below-the-radar attempt by white folks to deny the existence of racism, of course. Just pretend to be shocked (shocked!) every time it happens.

The other major component of racism-denial is to not allow anything to be racism unless it involves the word 'nigger'. Anything else can be explained as something else. A noose will work in a pinch as well I suppose...

[Nikki Stone 1]

8. Or Larry Elder. Glad they won the suit. A thousand pities that it was

necessary at all. What kind of a country are we?

[MadMaddie]

9. This is * man boys America...where chaos rules, where racism

rules....and where religion excuses any behaviour.

[Swamp Rat]

10. What happened to the wannabe hangmen?

Are they in prison for attempted murder or at least assault and battery?

THAT was a cut and dried HATE CRIME! :mad:

[Skidmore]

11. It happens.

My husband had workers call him "nigger" and "black boy" on his job. He had them roll cans in front of him on the gangways when he would walk them, trying to trip him. One worker used to wait till he was working on very high ladders and then bang on pipes to try to startle him. His supervisor denied him essential safety training for handling asbestos, sending even the janitor to be trained. Every person in that place was trained for this except him and he was the only one who had responsibility in his job description. He was trained for a year to replace a person at a higher job rank and then when the guy retired, they hired two white men off of the street.

Believe me, we documented like crazy and saw a lawyer. We won.