Asset Management Firm Pays $75,000 To Former Employee Who Was Fired Because Of His Race

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against Sureste Property Group and its divisions, Sureste Property Services and Sureste Development, a real estate operating company and asset management firm. The company agreed to pay a former employee $75,000 in back wages and compensatory damages related to his firing due to his race.

According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, the company violated federal law when it fired its first and only Black project development manager because of his race. The employee, who was Black, performed well despite being assigned more work than his white counterparts. The company nonetheless terminated him less than a year after he was hired, claiming first that he was “lazy” and not a good fit for the company’s “culture.” After that, however, the company claimed that his role had been eliminated. But less than a month after firing the Black employee, the company promoted a significantly less-qualified white employee to the same position. This is how you get yourself sued.

The allegations made by the EEOC are clear violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits companies from discriminating against employees based on their race. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

In addition to paying the former employee $75,000, the federal court approved a three-year consent decree resolving the EEOC’s lawsuit. As part of the decree, the company will distribute anti-harassment and anti-retaliation policies, post notice in the workplace informing employees of the settlement, and provide specialized training to all supervisors, managers, and employees. The company will also provide the EEOC with periodic reports regarding complaints of race discrimination during the decree’s term.

Analyzing the allegations against the company 

The company provided a flimsy pretense for why they fired the Black employee. At first, they said he was “lazy” and “didn’t fit in with the company’s culture.” Then, they said they eliminated his position. A few months later, however, they promoted a white employee with significantly fewer qualifications to the same position. Ultimately, their pretenses didn’t hold up in court. Civil suits like those filed by the EEOC are based on a preponderance of the evidence. In other words, the EEOC must establish that it is more likely than not that the allegations of racial discrimination are true. In this case, the company’s pretenses were so flimsy, that it could not establish that it had just cause to terminate the employee.

Talk to a Columbus, OH Employment Discrimination Lawyer Today 

Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC represents the interests of employees who have been wrongfully discharged due to a protected characteristic or because they reported workplace harassment. Call our Columbus employment lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing how you could recover back wages and compensatory damages for wrongful termination.

Source:

eeoc.gov/newsroom/sureste-property-group-pay-75000-eeoc-race-discrimination-lawsuit