Asphalt Paving Systems will pay $1.25 million dollars to settle a lawsuit brought against it by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for creating a hostile work environment in which Black employees were subject to racial discrimination and demeaning treatment.
According to court documents filed on July 29 that were obtained and reviewed by Atlanta Black Star, Asphalt has 30 days to pay the “compensatory damages” to 12 of its former Black employees who worked at its Florida locations. If the company misses the deadline, it will be charged interest for default.
The plaintiffs in the case are Michael Cheaves, Anthony Clemons, David Cooper, Freddrick Cooper, Broderick Curney, Olusoga Davis, Kendall Gadson, Joseph Haynes, Alvin Matooram, Willie Moore III, David Whipper, Jack Cornell Youmans, Deron Peterson, John Stephens and David Belvin.
During their employment at Asphalt, the men were allegedly called racial slurs, threatened and intimidated, as well as denied “the use of facilities, tools, and resources on the basis of their race.”
The EEOC filed its lawsuit against Asphalt in September 2023 on behalf of the dozen Black workers after uncovering disturbing evidence that the company violated the Civil Rights Act with repeated instances of racial harassment against its Black workers.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs were called the “N-word” and “boy” numerous times by white managers and co-workers, forced to work in inclement weather (including heavy rain) while white workers looked on and forced to use the bathroom outdoors while white workers could use indoor facilities.
Specific examples included two white foremen, Anthony Buchholz and Douglass Henry, using racist language when referring to Black employees.
“Buchholz would use the N-word frequently in front of Curney,” the lawsuit stated. “Curney objected to Buchholz’s direct use of the N-word, but Buchholz continued to use it. After Curney’s objections, Buchholz then came to a job site with a friend and yelled ‘I ain’t gonna ever run from a Black N—r’ at Curney.”
Henry is said to have repeatedly called Black employees “boy.” Other white employees are said to have called Black employees “Black boy,” “monkey,” and “Black motherf–ker”
One employee, referred to as “Jackie” in the lawsuit, allegedly told Black employees, “Black is beautiful, tan is grand, but white is the color of the big boss man,” as well as noting he was “Black from the waist down.”
Asphalt was also accused of preventing its former Black employees from finding future employment by contacting potential employers and asking them not to hire them, the EEOC said in a press release about its lawsuit.
Due to the hostile work environment, all of the plaintiffs either resigned or were fired by March 2022.
“The allegations in this case are deeply disturbing and illustrate the unfortunate reality that, 60 years after Title VII was enacted, toxic racial discrimination still plagues many workplaces in Florida,” EEOC Regional Attorney Robert E. Weisberg said when the lawsuit was announced. “The EEOC will continue to vigorously fight for the rights of Black employees and applicants to be free from workplace discrimination.”
In addition to the monetary settlement, Asphalt must also conduct yearly anti-discrimination training with its employees, which reviews what constitutes a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
