The Morton Salt company is facing a civil rights lawsuit alleging that a Black employee was subjected to workplace discrimination and retaliation because of his race and disability.
According to Atlanta Black Star, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a complaint last month on behalf of Daryl Dorsey, a former Black employee at Morton Salt Company. The complaint alleges that Morton Salt violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act.
According to the EEOC, Kurt Conkle, a white employee who trained Dorsey after he was hired in May 2022, repeatedly used racist terms like “n—er” and “worthless “n—er” and engaged in “harassing, abusive, mean-spirited and threatening behavior.”
Dorsey cited one training meeting where Conkle made statements suggesting that Dorsey and his colleagues "were stupid, slow, and did not know how to follow directions or read," Atlanta Black Star reports.
In July 2022, Dorsey reported Conkle's behavior to supervisors who he alleged didn't adequately investigate his complaint or take any action. Following his complaint, Dorsey allegedly received an evaluation where he was rated “unsatisfactory” in “relations with others,” citing an “altercation with Kurt Conkle."
The lawsuit states that the unsatisfactory evaluation was "unwarranted," constituting unlawful retaliation.
The following month, Dorsey reported to a supervisor that the brakes of his car had been tampered with. Dorsey believed Conkle or someone working with him was behind the incident and asked for security footage to determine who the perpetrator was.
According to Dorsey, company officials didn't investigate his concern, and he was instead transferred to a different department.
Drew Mummert, a supervisor, later sent an email expressing concerns over Dorsey's ability to work due to a “permanent partial impairment.” Dorsey was fired in September 2022.
The EEOC is seeking an order for Morton Salt to “promulgate and carry out policies and practices which provide equal employment opportunities to people protected by Title VII and the ADA, and which eradicate the effects of its past and present unlawful employment practices, including discrimination and retaliation.”
The complaint is also asking for "back pay and front pay for Dorsey, compensation for past and future pecuniary losses and emotional pain and suffering, and punitive damages for the company’s 'malicious and reckless conduct,'" per Atlanta Black Star.
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