Southwest Airlines, which serves many locations in Florida, is now the target of a racial discrimination lawsuit. A former employee has charged the airline with tolerating racial discrimination that contributed to his job loss. According to his court filings, his co-workers had a whites-only break room at the airport where he worked.
At that location, he had originally been an employee of AirTran. He became an employee of Southwest in 2013 when the company bought his previous employer. This transition led to some workers being allowed to create a break area only for white people. The plaintiff said that his supervisor knew about the break room but took no action to halt the discriminatory behavior of the co-workers. The segregated room remained in place until 2016 or 2017.
The plaintiff lost his job in April 2017. His employer cited the man’s failure to report a damaged vehicle as the reason for dismissal. His lawsuit described his job termination as racially motivated because two white co-workers had only received warnings after damaging their vehicles. He hopes to recover a financial settlement for lost earnings and mental anguish.
When management ignores a person’s concerns about discrimination at work, an attorney might provide insights about how to hold an employer accountable for illegal activity. With workplace racial discrimination legal assistance, a person could learn what information to gather for evidence and how to report it to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. An attorney could communicate the complaint to the employer and pursue damages either through negotiation or litigation.
