A major U.S. steel supplier has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a federal civil claim by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which accused the company of “egregious” racial discrimination against Black and Hispanic workers at its main plant in Eloy, Ariz.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Arizona in September 2022, accused Schuff Steel Co. of racial harassment and retaliation after employees said they were forced to work with a manager who repeatedly ridiculed Hispanic workers for not speaking good English and who raised his fist and declared “white power!” in front of Black employees.
Employees also claimed the plant manager, identified in court papers obtained by Atlanta Black Star as Travis Bell, regularly used racial slurs to intimidate them, including the N-word toward Black workers and derogatory terms like “wetback” and “spic” to describe Hispanics, according to the legal action.
Bell also berated Latino employees for speaking Spanish on the job, the EEOC claimed in the lawsuit.
The company allegedly retaliated against those who complained about the explosive encounters, as some employees were fired while others were forced to work the graveyard shift after blowing the whistle on Bell.
The toxic situation forced some employees to resign.
Kyle Barnett and “other aggrieved individuals” were named plaintiffs in the suit against Schuff Steel, which fabricates massive steel construction beams for major buildings and infrastructure across the country.
The industrial steel giant remains a key player in providing structural engineering to construct the framework of large structures and touts an impressive portfolio of completed projects, including several luxury hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, several major pro sports stadiums, and Apple’s distinctive ring-shaped headquarters in Cupertino, California.
The company also provided 20,000 tons of steel to build the 73-story Wilshire Grand…
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