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Benefits August 1, 2003
Reuters Slapped With Racism Case
August 1, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - One former and
two current black employees of Reuters and two related
companies have filed a complaint with the US Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission and a New York court alleging multiple
instances of racial discrimination.
Reported by Eric Hazard
The employees of computer network provider Radianz, a joint endeavor between Reuters and Equant, say the negative atmosphere included one of them being paid less than white colleagues, one being terminated unfairly and one called derogatory names and being sent abusive e-mails, according to news sources.
Hired to present the trio’s case is Johnnie Cochran who said he hoped to build the case into a class-action lawsuit, asking for “substantial damages.” He has already produced as evidence a number of offensive e-mails, which he said were sent to the plaintiffs. In one, the employee’s face was superimposed on a caricature that depicted him with a noose around his neck, an over-sized penis, and a beer bottle in his hand.
This comes asRadianz – which holds it did nothing wrong – points out it is a separate legal entity from Reuters and Equant. Radianz contends that “the attempt by these individuals’ lawyers to interject Reuters and Equant into this matter is inappropriate and appears to be a bald attempt to draw attention to this matter by naming more well-known and larger entities.”