Bigfoot Energy Services and Iron Mountain Energy agreed to pay $697,500 to resolve an EEOC race harassment and sex harassment case involving allegations of repeated racial slurs, sexually-degrading conduct, and retaliation against workers who complained.

The EEOC said managers and coworkers used racist language, including the n-word, and also shared pornographic images and made explicit sexual remarks in the workplace.

The EEOC further alleged that employees who reported the conduct were terminated shortly after raising concerns, which is the basis of retaliation claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Source: https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/bigfoot-energy-services-and-iron-mountain-energy-pay-697500-eeoc-race-and-sex-harassment

Commentary

In the above matter, one of the allegations was the use of racist language. Racist language in the workplace is offensive, unlawful, and creates a hostile work environment, affecting terms and conditions of employment.

Managers and supervisors must prohibit racial slurs, racial "jokes," derogatory comments, and any other race-based verbal conduct because such conduct can violate Title VII when it is severe or pervasive.

Front-line leadership should treat racist language as a control failure, not a style issue, because a single tolerated incident can lead to complaints, investigations, turnover, training mandates, and litigation exposure.

Other signs of workplace racism include:

• Incorporate into your mission that workplace participants be treated equally, fairly, and respectfully
• Establish policies, procedures, and standards that promote equality, require civility, and respect boundaries and adhere to policies, including policies that prohibit harassment based on race and/or color
• Enforce your organization's policies, procedures, and standards, including those that prohibit harassment based on race and/or color
• Encourage all workplace participants to report harassment based on race and/or color that they view, discover, or reasonably suspect is occurring
• Avoid hiring or selecting applicants or workers with a history of harassing others based on race and/or color
• When hiring, require work and personal references and ask the references if the applicant has a history of harassment based on race and/or color, harassment complaints, uncivil or disrespectful behavior, and/or ignoring boundaries. If the answer is yes, move onto another applicant
• Review the public social media pages of applicants to determine if they engage others in a civil and respectful manner and if they respect the boundaries of others
• Discipline any employee -- regardless of title, status, or duties -- who engages in, encourages, or promotes harassment based on race and/or color, is uncivil to workplace participants, and/or ignores boundaries of others and/or the organization
• Discipline any employee -- regardless of title, status, or duties -- who makes a knowingly false claim of harassment based on race and/or color
• Make certain all terminations are based on provable and documented objective factors, related to job performance, and not based on subjective, arbitrary, or illegal factors, including terminations for reporting, complaining, and/or providing testimony about harassment based on race and/or color
• Make certain that new leadership treats existing employees equally, fairly, and legally prior to hire or transfer and does not have a history of harassment based on race and/or color, harassment complaints, uncivil or disrespectful behavior, and/or complaints regarding respecting boundaries of others
• Document all actions related to termination or discipline of workers, including workers accused of harassment based on race and/or color
• Require all workplace participants to take discrimination prevention training, that includes information on racism and/or color discrimination, in a language they understand
• Require all workers to take diversity, equality, inclusion, and civility training in a language the trainee can understand
• Provide several safe and effective means for workplace participants to report harassment based on race and/or color
• Clearly communicate, through policies, procedures and postings, the means and process by which workplace participants can report harassment based on race and/or color
• Allow for a means by which workplace participants can report harassment based on race and/or color anonymously without fear of retaliation
• Investigate all reports and reasonable suspicions of harassment based on race and/or color in a thorough, prompt, and objective manner
• Consider the use of third-party investigators for harassment investigations that involve executive management, more than one complainant, charges of assault or abuse, or where there is a conflict of interest with investigators that are workplace participants
• Prohibit retaliation against workplace participants who report or complain about harassment based on race and/or color or who are involved in investigations regarding such harassment
• Provide a safe and effective means for workplace participants, who report or complain about harassment based on race and/or color or who are involved in investigations regarding such harassment, to report retaliation