LV firm hit with federal discrimination lawsuit

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Friday, Sept. 12, 2003 | 9:46 a.m.

The federal agency that combats workplace discrimination filed a lawsuit earlier this week against a local concrete company.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit against Campbell Concrete of Nevada Inc. alleges that the company retaliated against an employee after she complained about being mistreated. She said she was mistreated because she was Mexican.

The lawsuit seeks an undisclosed amount of back pay and monetary and punitive damages of up to $300,000, as well as a change in company policies.

The action followed failed efforts to reconcile the complainant with the company and was a sign of a rise in discrimination complaints in Nevada, said Samantha E. Blake, trial attorney for the EEOC.

"It does seem that claims from Nevada are on the rise -- particularly claims of discrimination due to national origin by Latino workers," Blake said.

"Any time you see an influx of a new population, you see discrimination against those groups."

Nevada's Hispanic population grew from 10.4 percent of the total population in 1990 to 19.7 population in 2000, according to the Census Bureau.

The complaint filed in federal court Wednesday said that Belina Garcia was discriminated against from Dec. 14, 2000, through Feb. 19, 2001. Garcia alleges that fellow workers and supervisors made insults about Mexican traditions, food and dress directed at her and other Mexican employees. After she complained of the treatment, the company retaliated against her by disciplining her and eventually firing her, the complaint says.

An official with the company said she was not aware of the case and made no further comment.

Acting EEOC Los Angeles Regional Attorney Noelle Brennan said the company "...admitted to punishing the employee, in part, for complaining of discrimination." This occurred while the two parties tried to reconcile their differences, Blake said.

Retaliation is a serious offense, Blake said, because it discourages other employees from complaining of discrimination.

The attorney also said the federal agency rarely litigates and "chooses cases very carefully for their impact to target areas of discrimination that are problematic."

Nationwide, the agency receives about 800,000 complaints every year and takes about 300 of them to court, she said.

Nevada currently has four or five cases pending, including the case filed this week, Blake said.