Major Racial Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Large Texas Engineering And Construction Company
Plaintiffs Subjected To Offensive Graffiti, Name-Calling, Unequal Pay, Abusive And Dangerous Workplace Conditions.
NEW YORK, NY (January 4, 2018) — A major discrimination lawsuit has been filed in The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California on behalf of six African-American workers against their former employer, Bakersfield California-based KS Industries, LP, a large (500 plus employees) privately-held engineering, fabrication and construction company. The workers are represented by James Vagnini of Garden City, NY based Valli Kane Vagnini LLP. The Plaintiffs are seeking damages from the Defendant for acts of discrimination and retaliation based on race, color and/or national origin in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
The workers, who were relocated to a company work site in North Dakota, were subject to employment practices that favored non-African Americans including: wrongful terminations, denials of promotions, unequal pay and unsafe workplace conditions. Among the numerous violations alleged in the Complaint were that these employees working in sub-zero temperatures were not permitted to take mandatory breaks from the cold inside “warming trucks” that were provided for non-African-American employees. In addition, hostile graffiti was prevalent in the bathrooms and work areas including both racially charged remarks and depictions including black people hanging by nooses. White supervisors openly called them by the most derogatory racial epithets. White workers regularly wore labels depicting the confederate flag on their head gear.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) last year issued a determination and notice of conciliation in which they found the Plaintiffs were subjected to severe and pervasive harassment and differential treatment in violation of Title VII.