LAFAYETTE, La.–The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed suit against Meritus Credit Union accusing it of firing an African-American manager after she was upset by an allegedly offensive video used during a training session.
The EEOC said in a statement that the employee, Connie Fields-Meaux, who managed the Crowley, La. branch, was the only African-American branch manager.
Meritus Credit Union is also identified under its former name, Lafayette Schools FCU, in the lawsuit.
During the training session, a video was show that allegedly included "a caricature of an African-American fast food worker" as an example of "how not to provide customer service,” according to the EEOC.
The EECO said Fields-Meaux was upset by the video, and excused herself from the training session. “Several other black employees told her they also were upset by it,” the EEOC said. “She reported their concerns the following day, and the day after that she was fired, the release states.
According to KATC, Meritus Credit Union sent an email to employees the day she complained, in which the consultant who did the training apologized for using the video, the lawsuit alleges.
"Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," the release states.
The suit was filed in federal court after settlement attempts failed, the EEOC said.
"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,” the EEOC said in its statement. “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," Keith Hill, director for the EEOC's New Orleans Field Office, told KATC.
A full copy of the lawsuit can be found here.