According to a Charge of Discrimination filed with the EEOC against Pipeline Plastics, our client (“the victim”) was the only African American employee at Pipeline Plastics working in the yard on his shift. Pipeline employs very few African Americans. On July 23, 2024, the victim arrived at work at Pipeline Plastics in Levelland, TX to find KKK and white supremacist graffiti in his forklift:
According to the EEOC Charge, when he reported it to the Plant Manager (“the PM”), he said “yeah I saw that and I knew it was going to make you feel some type of way.” The PM could have wiped it off before the victim arrived so he would not have had to endure it, but chose not to do that. According to a sworn statement by an eye witness, the PM told the victim to “wipe it off” himself. The witness testified that after this incident, Pipeline failed to take any action to prevent threats against its African American employees. The Charge alleges the PM just told the victim, “don’t worry about it.”
Pipeline should have held an all-hands meeting informing employees that racial harassment would not be tolerated. The Charge states that Pipeline never did, and that Pipeline should have taken other steps to find the culprit and prevent further racially threatening harassment.
The Charge states that the victim was immediately confronted with more white supremacist racism. In the Main Office that afternoon, the Collection Manager, who knew the victim was already extremely upset, called our the victim’s name and gave a Heil Hitler salute while laughing:
The victim’s supervisor who was present, did nothing.
After his complaint, coworkers started calling the victim “traitor,” and refused to speak with him. One coworker told the victim they had been ordered not to talk to him.
Predictably, the victim was targeted a third time with a symbol of Aryan hate associated with genocide just days later:
The Charge states that still nothing was done to prevent further threats. In fact, the victim is unaware of ANY remedial response. His text messages with his supervisor included the White Power graffiti and clearly explained he was afraid for his life:
Asking for protection from threats of racial violence at work, should not cost a person their job. But his Charge alleges that in retaliation for his complaints, Pipeline locked the victim out of its group texts and revoked access to his benefits portal, just days after telling the company he did not feel safe at work, implying that he had been fired from work. A week later Pipeline learned the victim had retained counsel to investigate. It sent him a COBRA notice claiming he quit, and told Unemployment the same thing, denying him unemployment. Overnight, the victim went from earning a good wage to being impoverished, to escape threats against his life, which his Charge alleges Pipeline tolerated. The victim had been at Pipeline for almost eight years.
If you have witnessed racism at Pipeline Plastics, we want to hear from you. Email us at attorney@friedmanhouldingllp.com, fill out a contact form on our website or call us at 888-369-1119 x5.
