Opinion ID: 766145
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Racist Slurs

Text: 3 On her first day of work at Quanex, Jackson overheard Dwight Miller and Jim Voltz, two supervisors, discussing their desire to fire minority employees and the idea of placing stars on their helmets for each minority fired. Jackson made no complaint to Quanex because she was a new hire and in a ninety-day probationary period. Darlene Solomon, another African American hired by Quanex in 1987, overheard supervisor Bob Beatty speaking in a derogatory manner about African- American people wearing bags on their heads, and frequently heard co-workers use racial slurs including the word nigger shortly after she began work at Quanex. Don McComb, also hired in 1987, heard Dwight Miller regularly refer to him and other African-American employees as colored. (J.A. at 1090.) In 1988, Lloyd Clayton, another African American, learned from a co-worker that someone had called him a stupid damn nigger, and overheard Dwight Miller and Bob Beatty saying that a particular African-American employee was not like the rest of them because he would do as he is told. (J.A. at 579, 756.) Clayton later learned that when he replaced someone for a tub cleaner position, Dwight Miller commented that no nigger was going to bump a white woman. (J.A. at 533-34.) Although Clayton reported the incident to Larry Samms, a general foreman, and to the Civil Rights Committee, Quanex undertook no investigation or action. 4 In 1989, Thomas Miller, an African-American employee who had repeatedly received racially offensive notes in his first year of employment with Quanex in 1981 and who regularly heard the term nigger rigging used there, heard his supervisor Leroy Shoaff constantly refer to African-American male employees as boys and to Caucasian male employees as men, and endured numerous comments from Shoaff about how Shoaff was breast-fed by a black woman and he had black in him. 2 (J.A. at 196, 197.) Although Miller told Shoaff he no longer wished to hear these comments, Shoaff continued to make them. And, although Miller reported Shoaff's conduct to Quanex's personnel department, Quanex took no action. In 1990, Bernard Crittenden, also African American, overheard racial jokes and heard co-worker Donnie Stone refer to another African-American employee as a nigger. (J.A. at 402.) Crittenden was also told by a foreman, when he sought apprenticeship training as an electrician, that they did not want blacks inside of the electric shop. (J.A. at 1828.) In 1991, co-worker Sue Knerr called Edward Copeland a stupid street nigger. (J.A. at 625-26.) When Copeland complained to Shoaff, their supervisor, Shoaff asked Knerr to apologize but took no other action. 5 Jackson personally experienced racial slurs as well. In 1992, when Jackson was working as a tub cleaner, she had a Caucasian assistant named Pam Fouts for approximately three months. On August 12, 1992, Shoaff told Fouts, you're working for a nigger now, boy did you get screwed. (J.A. at 2119.) Although Anita Wardlaw, a representative on the Civil Rights Committee, urged Fouts to file a complaint, Fouts resisted because she was being called a lot of things she didn't like, such as she is a 'nigger lover' and 'you are stabbing us in the back,' things like that. (J.A. at 1311.) Ultimately, Wardlaw had Fouts sign a prepared statement describing the incident, and used the statement to file a written grievance with Quanex. When Quanex took Shoaff's statement, Shoaff admitted asking Fouts whether she was working for a black girl. (J.A. at 1293.) On August 20, 1992, Quanex issued a statement to Shoaff andFouts stating that it could not take action because there were no eyewitnesses to the incident, and reminding them that discriminatory conduct and bearing false witness against another employee violated company policy and rules. Wardlaw viewed this response as unsatisfactory, as it appeared Quanex wanted to just brush it up under the table and just let it go. (J.A. at 1314-15.) 6 On January 22, 1993, Jackson attended a routine meeting with her supervisors in which Dwight Miller opened with, we are up to our asses in nigger sludge or a comment that sludge was ass deep to a tall nigger. (J.A. at 1818, 1902, 1942.) When another employee objected, Dwight Miller retracted his statement and said instead, up to our ass in Indian sludge. (J.A. at 1819.) Jackson reported this incident to Quanex management. In response, Quanex posted a memorandum of apology on a bulletin board in the plant, and gave Dwight Miller a reprimand, telling him that if he used similar slurs in the future, it would take disciplinary action against him immediately. Dennis Lasker, the plant manager, spoke with Dwight Miller and told him that Quanex would not tolerate his behavior anymore. (J.A. at 671.) Jackson never received an apology from Dwight Miller.