Ethnic Slurs Can Cost Big Bucks

We were discussing how to deal with ethnic slurs in my recent seminar on Immigrant and Ethnic Workers.I shared this lawsuit with the group, and want to repeat it here. If you ignore ethnic slurs, it can cost you big bucks. A Denver building contractor ignored the problem brought to him by 10 Mexican workers who claimed they were hearing derogatory comments and ethnic slurs everyday. The group contacted the EEOC, stating their complaints were ignored and there was retaliation for the complaints. The contractor settled with the EEOC for $600,000 because he knew going to court would have cost even more.

Ignoring ethnic slurs is as absurd as ignoring sexual harassment. Retaliation is sheer lunacy. Train your managers to jump on these situations immediately. Train your employees to come forward with their complaints, and assure them there will be no retaliation against them. Let all employees know (through training) that harassment and ethnic slurs are immediate grounds for dismissal and you will stop it.