By Louis Chan
Reprinted from AsAm News
A Filipino/American oil worker whose manager urinated on his leg and called him names has won $250,000 in a discrimination suit.
Matthew Clark worked for the American Casing & Equipment, Inc., a North Dakota oilfield service company operating in Williston, N.D. He accused the company manager of hurling racial epithets at him and on one occasion while he was under a vehicle, urinating on his leg. The incident was witnessed by another supervisor, but no action was taken.
The harassment included the manager calling Clark a “non-white m—-f—-r,” “non-white guy,” “spic,” “n—-r,” “monkey” and “ape.”
The lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Clark was fired in retaliation for complaining.
“They cannot simply ignore harassment and fire employees who complain about being abused rather than doing something about it,” said Tina Burnside who litigated the case for the EEOC.
The company was accused of harassment and violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In the settlement, American Casing & Equipment also agreed to educate all its managers, supervisors and employees about laws prohibiting discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
“This settlement sends a strong message to employers that race and national origin harassment and retaliation will not be tolerated in the workplace,” said John Hendrickson of the EEOC. “EEOC hopes that the changes implemented under the consent decree will serve as a model for creating a workplace free of discrimination in the oilfield service industry.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Thousands of Filipinos were brought to the U.S. to work in the Gulf states' oil industry after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. No one would have noticed this influx of Filipino workers if not for an explosion on an offshore oil rig that killed 11 Filipinos and injured dozens of others. Involuntary manslaughter charges were filed against the contractor who hired the Filipinos by the Department of Justice in December 2015 for unsafe working conditions. The case is due to be heard in the courts in January, 2017.
Reprinted from AsAm News
A Filipino/American oil worker whose manager urinated on his leg and called him names has won $250,000 in a discrimination suit.
Matthew Clark worked for the American Casing & Equipment, Inc., a North Dakota oilfield service company operating in Williston, N.D. He accused the company manager of hurling racial epithets at him and on one occasion while he was under a vehicle, urinating on his leg. The incident was witnessed by another supervisor, but no action was taken.
The harassment included the manager calling Clark a “non-white m—-f—-r,” “non-white guy,” “spic,” “n—-r,” “monkey” and “ape.”
The lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Clark was fired in retaliation for complaining.
“They cannot simply ignore harassment and fire employees who complain about being abused rather than doing something about it,” said Tina Burnside who litigated the case for the EEOC.
The company was accused of harassment and violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In the settlement, American Casing & Equipment also agreed to educate all its managers, supervisors and employees about laws prohibiting discrimination, harassment and retaliation.
“This settlement sends a strong message to employers that race and national origin harassment and retaliation will not be tolerated in the workplace,” said John Hendrickson of the EEOC. “EEOC hopes that the changes implemented under the consent decree will serve as a model for creating a workplace free of discrimination in the oilfield service industry.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Thousands of Filipinos were brought to the U.S. to work in the Gulf states' oil industry after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. No one would have noticed this influx of Filipino workers if not for an explosion on an offshore oil rig that killed 11 Filipinos and injured dozens of others. Involuntary manslaughter charges were filed against the contractor who hired the Filipinos by the Department of Justice in December 2015 for unsafe working conditions. The case is due to be heard in the courts in January, 2017.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment