Lawsuit alleges job site racism

Federal agency says Texas-based company allowed bias at project in Capital Region

The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Tuesday filed suit against a San Antonio, Texas, construction firm for allegedly allowing the harassment of black employees when the firm was in the Capital Region in 2016.

According to the federal complaint, filed in New York Northern District Court in Albany, white supervisors and employees regularly made unwelcome racist comments, used racial slurs, taunted black employees with nooses, and subjected them to harsher working conditions than their co-workers.

The EEOC also alleged that white employees of CCC Group frequently derided black employees with racial epithets and referring them to as Chicken George, a character from the 1970s docudrama “Roots” or as Buckwheat, from the 1930s “Our Gang,” series.

Other white employees bragged that their ancestors had owned slaves and one told a black employee he couldn’t be seen with him outside of work since it would hinder his ability to join a white supremacist group, according to the complaint.

Another white supervisor also attempted to snare a black employee with a noose, the EEOC said.

Another told a black employee that for Halloween, “You don’t even have to dress up. I will dress in white and put a noose around your neck and we’ll walk down the street together.”

The lawsuit also alleges that black workers were given more physically taxing and dangerous work than white counterparts, including being assigned outdoor work in winter while white colleagues worked inside.

Black employees objected to and complained about the racial harassment, but it persisted, the EEOC said.

The complaint noted that one of the black workers was from Alabama and it was unclear if any of the plaintiff/employees lived permanently in the Capital Region.

Nor was it immediately clear what project CCC Group was working on.

The alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of race.

The federal agency went to court after trying to reach a prelitigation settlement through the agency’s conciliation process.

The EEOC seeks compensatory damages and punitive damages for the affected employees, and injunctive relief to remedy and prevent future workplace racial harassment.

CCC couldn’t be reached for comment on Wednesday.

The firm, according to its website specializes in industrial construction and fabrication. They are no longer operating in the Ravena area, according to the EEOC.