Allied Aviation to Pay Nearly $2 Million for Harassment of Black and Hispanic Workers

EEOC Resolves Class Case Involving Nooses, Racial Slurs and Graffiti at Airport Facility

DALLAS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the settlement of a race and national origin harassment lawsuit for $1.9 million and significant remedial relief against Allied Aviation Services, Inc. on behalf of African American and Hispanic workers who were the targets of racial slurs, graffiti, cartoons, and hangman’s nooses at a facility in the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport. The company identifies itself at the “largest American domestically owned provider of fueling services to the commercial aviation industry.”

The EEOC charged in the case that African American and Hispanic employees were subjected to a racially hostile work environment consisting of verbal and other abuse by their co-workers on a daily basis. Racial graffiti, including swastikas and the N-word, were commonplace and in plain sight in employee restrooms, on fuel tanks, and written on aircraft. An offensive cartoon belittling a Hispanic worker was placed under glass on a manager's desk for months. Additionally, there was a so-called “hit list” targeting blacks as well as references to the “back of the bus” and “going back to Africa.” Also, a white employee married to an African American was subjected to racial abuse.

“It is appalling that racial harassment remains a persistent problem at some job sites across the country in the 21st century, more than 40 years after passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act,” said EEOC Chair Naomi C. Earp. “Employers must be more vigilant and make clear that race discrimination, whether verbal or behavioral, has no place in the contemporary workplace.”

In addition to the $1.9 million in damages to be divided among 15 class members, the three-year consent decree resolving the case (EEOC v. Allied Aviation, Civil Action No. 3:05-CV-1379L, N.D. of Texas, Dallas Division) includes injunctive relief requiring diversity training for all of Allied Aviation’s employees in U.S. facilities and the posting of a notice at all facilities.

“This settlement sends an important message to the aviation industry that racial graffiti and slurs are not appropriate in the workplace, whether in an office building or out on the tarmac,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Robert A. Canino of the Dallas District Office.

The group of 15 employees -- including Eric Mitchel, a former football player for the Oklahoma Sooners and the Dallas Cowboys -- was represented by the EEOC, the New York firm of Valli, Kane and Vagnini LLP, and the Austin firm of DiNovo, Price & Ellwanger LLP. The suit was filed under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.