Asphalt Paving Systems to Pay $1.25 Million in EEOC Race Discrimination Lawsuit.
Settles Federal Suit Alleging Asphalt Paving Systems Allowed Racial Harassment of Black Workers.
TAMPA, FL (STL.News) Asphalt Paving Systems, Inc. (APS), an asphalt paving company with offices in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Tennessee, agreed to pay $1.25 million and furnish comprehensive injunctive relief to settle a race discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency announced today.
According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Asphalt Paving Systems (APS) subjected 12 Black former employees and a class of other Black employees to frequent, severe harassment because of their race. Black employees were subjected to degrading and humiliating conditions, such as being required to work in pouring rain while white workers watched and being forced to relieve themselves outdoors while white employees were taken to indoor restrooms. Black employees were also often called racial slurs and epithets, including the “n-word,” “monkey,” and “boy.”
The EEOC further alleged that the hostile work environment was exacerbated by physically threatening conduct, such as managers and supervisors bringing guns to worksites and—in one instance—reaching for a weapon. Leadership at APS’s Tampa location witnessed and received complaints about the employees’ racist treatment, but APS took no action to correct it.
Such conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed its suit (EEOC v. Asphalt Paving Systems, Inc., Case No. 8:23-cv-2169-JLB-UAM) in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.
The three-year decree resolving the EEOC’s lawsuit requires APS to pay $1.25 million in monetary relief and provide specialized training on race discrimination to human resources officers and managers to ensure that they are aware of their obligations to prevent workplace discrimination and how to address complaints. The decree also requires APS to appoint an outside monitor to review complaints of race-based harassment and provide EEOC with reports of harassment complaints, which also describe the actions taken in response to the complaints.
“This case underscores the urgent need for the EEOC’s ongoing efforts to eliminate racism in the construction industry,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte A. Burrows. “The EEOC will continue to use all its tools—including vigorous enforcement and litigation where necessary—to address these systemic problems and promote safe and inclusive workplaces for all.”
“No employee should have to work in an environment that is openly hostile to them because of their race,” said EEOC Regional Attorney Kristen M. Foslid. “The abhorrent treatment that these workers endured is unacceptable anywhere, but especially in the workplace. The EEOC will continue to work vigorously to protect employees’ right to earn a living without being subjected to discrimination.”
Tampa Field Office Director Tamra S. Schweiberger said, “We will continue to hold employers accountable when they foster a workplace filled with discrimination. We hope that the training and other relief in the consent decree will help build a discrimination-free workplace at APS.”
USPress.News covered this story as well.
