This past summer, two employees of a McDonalds located in Queens, New York, filed a lawsuit against their employer, alleging both sexual harassment and racial discrimination. Both employees, who are black women, allege that their supervisor, a white man, inappropriately touched them and made remarks that degraded them based on their race. This case, Harris, et al v. McDonald’s Corp., et al, provides a classic picture of what sexual harassment and racial discrimination in the workplace look like.
**Sexual Harassment**
The employees allege that their supervisor would tell jokes at work about his private parts, among other inappropriate sexual remarks he made to the employees, while making sexually suggestive movements with his pelvis. Aside from the jokes, he would grope them and press his body against them while trying to move through tight spaces. Outside of work, he would send them text messages containing sexually charged language. Fortunately, the women kept the text messages as a record to be used against him in their lawsuit. As can be seen, sexual harassment takes on a variety of forms and can be both overt and subtle. Sexual harassment can occur simply by words alone without any touching.
**Racial Discrimination**
Their supervisor also allegedly would call his employees the N-word and would make remarks that the store would get busy at the beginning of the months because black customers “received their welfare checks” at that time. The suit alleges that on one occasion, when the supervisor was driving one of the employees to another McDonald’s location, he asked her what exit to take. When she answered that the exit was N19, the supervisor responded by saying that the “N” was for “N*****ville.” He would also send text messages including racially demeaning messages, one of which included a cartoon of a white man spraying black children with a water hose. While this kind of discrimination was overt, racial discrimination can include less noticeable versions, such as not promoting an employee of a minority race or paying him or her less.
**Call a Sexual Harassment Attorney in New York for Help**
Don’t let sexual harassment or racial discrimination ruin your job. Instead, take action by seeking help from someone who knows how to help and will guide you through your case. If you believe you have been a victim of race discrimination, the law firm of John J. Zidziunas & Associates has a team of New York sexual harassment or racial discrimination attorneys available to confidentially review your case. For further information, call 973-509-8500, email info@jjzlawfirm.com, or visit http://employmentdiscrimination.com/.
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