Companies May Not Retaliate for Complaints of Racial Slurs

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has settled a lawsuit against a rent-to-own furniture company, Affordable Rent-to-Own, LLC, in which it claimed that the company subjected an employee to racial slurs and then fired him after he complained about the use of these racial slurs.  The EEOC’s lawsuit alleges that a Caucasian employee at Affordable Rent-to-Own, LLC repeatedly used the word “n****r” while working with a manager-in-training who was African American.  The African American employee complained to other managers at Affordable Rent-to-Own about the use of these racial slurs.  Instead of disciplining the offending employee or addressing the issue, Affordable Rent-to-Own, LLC terminated the employment of the African American employee who had complained.  This alleged conduct is a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits companies from subjecting employees to racially hostile work environments, prohibits race discrimination, and prohibits retaliation for complaints of such discrimination.  See EEOC v. Affordable Rent-to-Own, LLC d/b/a Affordable Home Furnishings, Case No. 3:22-cv-00676 (M.D. La.).