African American Employee Fired After He Walked Away from a Coworker Who Allegedly Yelled at Him, “You Sound Stupid As Hell.”

David ManesLawsuits & Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Employee Files Lawsuit against Zoll Manufacturing Corporation for Race Discrimination

Lamont accepted the position of assembler at Zoll Manufacturing Corporation in 2013. Three years later, in July, Lamont asked his manager to allow him to be 20 minutes late for his shift throughout the month due to childcare needs. His manager approved the request with the simple caveat that Lamont make up the time at the end of each of his shifts. Lamont had no trouble holding up his end of the deal.

During that month, Lamont discovered that a Caucasian employee made a similar request for the month of July. On August 1st, Lamont received a write up about his attendance throughout the month of July, despite having his manager’s approval. The Caucasian employee only received a verbal warning and no write up. Upset about the disparity of treatment, Lamont reported the incident to a Human Resource representative, but nothing was done.

Things quieted, and Lamont continued to work his schedule. In September, he and other coworkers were talking when one coworker turned on Lamont. According to Lamont, this coworker berated him, saying, “shut the f*** up” and “you sound stupid as hell.” Lamont responded, “Excuse me?” And then the coworker repeated himself, yelling so that everyone could hear. Not wanting to escalate the situation, Lamont left the room.According to Lamont, this coworker berated him, saying, “shut the f*** up” and “you sound stupid as hell.”

Later on, Lamont shared that his manager planned to take statements from each employee who witnessed the situation. Lamont gave his statement and went home after his manager promised he’d hear from them that weekend. When the call came, Lamont was terminated. He later discovered that the white man who had yelled at him had not been terminated while he had been.

Because Lamont recognized a pattern of unequal treatment between black and white employees within the company, he assumed he was fired because of his race. As a client of KM&A, Lamont is fighting for his employee rights under the law since it is illegal to racially discriminate against employees. KM&A challenges employers who violate the law by discriminating against employees due to their race.

 

Full text of this complaint, as filed with the District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, is available at docket no: 2:17-cv-01535-CRE

Kraemer, Manes & Associates LLC is an employment law firm with principal offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, serving all counties in Pennsylvania, focusing on employment law, business law, litigation, and civil issues. KM&A clients include employees, small businesses, parties in litigation, and people with a variety of legal issues.

For more information about this case, contact Attorney Sean Ruppert at 412-626-5550 or at sr@lawkm.com.

NOTICE: All information contained in this statement comes from the Complaint which has been filed as a public record with the court. As dedicated civil rights attorneys, we strongly believe in the public value of telling our clients’ stories: violators can be held accountable, and other silent victims can feel empowered to stand up for their legal rights. Although we make every attempt to verify our clients’ claims, note that the defendant is expected to oppose our client’s position, and the court has not ruled one way or the other as of the date of this statement.