The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced yesterday that Sara Lee discriminated against black employees working in a Texas baking facility, by disproportionately assigning them to work in hazardous areas in the building.
Those workers were exposed to asbestos, mold and other toxins because of those assignments, the EEOC said, according to the Chicago Tribune.
An attorney representing some of the workers said that as many as 90 people were subjected to severe discrimination, including 25 employees who filed complaints with the EEOC starting in 2011. They were responsible for trigging the two-year investigation that led to the EEOC’s findings.
As a result of the investigation, agency said black employees were less likely than their white counterparts to be promoted, and that managers subjected black workers to racial slurs, intimidation and racial graffiti.
The facility closed in 2011.
“Several of the black employees have since died of cancer or other diseases caused by an environmentally toxic environment,” the agency said in a statement, adding that a settlement is being discussed. If one can’t be reached, the EEOC may file a lawsuit against the Sara Lee brand.
A spokesman with Tyson Foods, which owns the brand, said the company doesn’t tolerate the harassment and discrimination that is being alleged, and that it strives for diversity in its workforce.
Sara Lee discriminated against black employees, federal agency says [Chicago Tribune]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist
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