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Posted: Thursday, 22 October 2009 7:50AM
Dead rat in her cup, woman sues employer for racial harassment
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CHICAGO (STNG) -- A United Airlines employee filed a lawsuit in federal court Wednesday claiming she was a victim of racial harassment by Caucasian coworkers, one of whom put a dead rat in her cup.
Eleanor Solsberry, an African American woman, started working as a ramp service agent for United in June of 2000, according to the suit filed in U.S. District court.
In 2008, Solsberry’s Caucasian coworker allegedly began harassing her about her race, the suit alleges. In one instance, the coworker placed a dead rat in Solsberry’s cup.
When Solsberry spoke to her supervisor about the incident—after the coworker admitted that “the rat was intended” for Solsberry—he allegedly told her he did not consider the rat incident a form of discrimination.
Hoping to have a say in discrimination at the airline, Solsberry requested to become a Union Steward, which she became in October of 2008, the suit said.
According to the suit, whenever employees complained to Caucasian supervisors about harassment, their claims were dismissed as invalid. When Solsberry attempted to file grievances in these circumstances, she was placed on indefinite suspension without pay, “pending an investigation,” the suit said.
Solsberry claims she was disciplined because she attempted to confront management about discrimination among the airline’s employees, the suit said.
The suit asks for an unspecified amount in damages, as well as Solsberry's “lost, forgone, an future wages.”
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