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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 13, 2018
EEOC SUES LAFAYETTE SCHOOLS' FEDERAL CREDIT UNION FOR RETALIATION
Credit Union Fired a Branch Manager the Day
After She Opposed Its Use of a
Racially Offensive Video During a Training
Session, Agency Says
NEW ORLEANS – Lafayette Schools’
Federal Credit Union unlawfully fired its only African-American branch manager
because she opposed — and assisted another black employee in opposing — its use
of a racially offensive video during a training session, the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed here today.
Lafayette Schools’ Federal Credit
Union, which recently changed its name to Meritus Credit Union, is based in
Lafayette, La. The branch manager, Connie Fields-Meaux, ran its branch in
Crowley, La., for about three years. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, during a
training session, Lafayette Schools’ Federal Credit Union used a video
depicting a caricature of an African-American fast food worker as an example of
“how not to provide customer service.” According to the suit, Fields-Meaux was
so upset by the video that she momentarily excused herself from the session and
that other black employees told Fields-Meaux that they, too, were upset by the
video. The EEOC said that Fields-Meaux reported the concerns of one of the
African-American employees the next day, and the day after that, Lafayette
Schools’ Federal Credit Union fired her, without warning or explanation.
Such alleged conduct violates Title
VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed its suit (Civil Action No.
2:18-cv-06673) in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its
conciliation process.
The EEOC, which has authority to
bring the suit on behalf of the public, has asked the court to permanently
enjoin Lafayette Schools’ Federal Credit Union from engaging in future
retaliation. It has also asked the court to order it to pay Fields-Meaux both
punitive and compensatory damages as well as back pay.
“Employers must respond to — and
certainly not fire — employees who raise concerns about racially offensive
materials,” said Keith Hill, director for the EEOC’s New Orleans Field Office.
Rudy Sustaita, regional attorney
for the Houston District Office, cautioned, “Retaliating against employees for
reporting racially offensive workplace conduct is a serious violation of
federal law that the EEOC will prosecute.”
The EEOC advances opportunity in
the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination.
More information is available at www.eeoc.gov.
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updates.
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