Phila. Food Service Workers File $200M Race-Bias Suit

Eleven black employees of a Pennsylvania food services provider have filed a class-action lawsuit alleging they were repeatedly called "nigger," "gorilla" and "monkey," barred from having contact with the public and retaliated against for complaining about the mistreatment.

Defendant Compass Group and its affiliates have contracts with businesses, schools, universities, hospitals and other institutions nationwide.

According to the complaint, the company hired blacks for lower-level positions when it first began providing food services at the Comcast Center, the cable company's headquarters in Philadelphia. Now that the center is fully staffed, Compass is trying to get rid of its black employees, the complaint says.

The plaintiffs say they were forced to eat lunch in the locker room and were told to clean up any trash that white workers left behind.

Only white employees were permitted to work in the presence of guests during private catering functions, and black employees were subjected to unwarranted job scrutiny, criticism and discipline, among other things, according to the complaint.

The plaintiffs say that when they complained to upper management about the discriminatory treatment, Compass retaliated against them and increased the harassment.

Some of the plaintiffs were fired allegedly for resisting discriminatory treatment. In some cases the company concocted false reports of disciplinary problems to justify the firings, the complaint says.

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, names as defendants Compass Group and two affiliates. The companies' assets are commingled to the extent that all three can be considered one employer for liability purposes, the complaint says.

Derek Vogelman, the executive chef at the Comcast Center, also is a named defendant.

Vogelman had the authority to make employment decisions, including hiring, firing and disciplining subordinates, and he actively participated in the discrimination, harassment and retaliation the plaintiffs experienced, the complaint says.

The plaintiffs say Vogelman repeatedly called the plaintiffs "Chim Chim," the name of the chimpanzee that appears in the "Speed Racer" movie and cartoon, and refused to call them by their correct names, even after they complained.

When no action was taken after they complained at the local level, the plaintiffs say, they still received no relief after several of them contacted Compass' regional vice president.

The suit alleges the defendants violated the plaintiffs' civil rights by engaging in racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Further, it alleges, Compass is liable for the negligent hiring, training and supervision of its manager and supervisors, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and wrongful termination in violation of Pennsylvania law.

The plaintiffs are seeking class certification, an injunction to stop the alleged discrimination and at least $200 million in damages, including $100 million in punitive damages.

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They are represented by Gregory Filosa, Kenneth Thompson and Jordan Merson of Thompson, Wigdor & Gilly in New York.