COMPANY AGREED TO PAY $105,000 TO SETTLE RACE DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS
In early February, Affordable Home Furnishings, a company based out of Louisiana, agreed to pay a former employee $105,000 to settle a race discrimination lawsuit which had been filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Apparently, a white account manager used the word “n****r” while training an African American employee. And after the use of that slur was reported, the company fired the complaining employee.
Believing that such conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the EEOC filed its suit (EEOC v. Affordable Rent-to-Own, LLC d/b/a Affordable Home Furnishings, Civil Action No. 3:22-cv-00676) in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.
In addition to paying $105,000 in back pay and damages, the company agreed to revise its training and employment-related practices, to set up a complaint hotline, to post appropriate notices, and to provide regular reports to the agency.
In a written statement, Rudy Sustaita, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Houston District Office, noted that “This resolution provides appropriate relief for the former employee and sends the message that racial harassment has no place in America.”
There’s no place for that, at all.
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