OLEAN, N.Y. — A federal equal opportunity agency has accused the local Domino’s Pizza franchise of illegally allowing race-based harassment against employees.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Thursday it had filed a lawsuit in federal court against Parris Pizza Company LLC, the former owner of the Olean and Bradford, Pa., Domino’s Pizza franchises, for race-based harassment against Black employees since at least 2019.
“Racial harassment in the workplace is a crucial issue, all the more pressing in the wake of the horrific, racially motivated mass shooting in Buffalo less than a year ago,” said Jeffrey Burstein, regional attorney for the EEOC’s New York District Office. “This lawsuit sends a clear message that racial harassment of employees will not be tolerated.”
The EEOC accuses the company of subjecting its African American employees, including Andrew Ross and others, to a race-based hostile work environment. The alleged mistreatment included two managers’ regular and open use of slurs such as the “n-word” and “boy” during every shift.
Among other alleged incidents, one of the managers mimicked the voice of a slave owner and called Ross “boy” while the other manager stood by and laughed.
The agency alleges that Black employees, including Ross, complained about the harassment, and the complaints were met only with further harassment and intimidation. For example, upon overhearing an African American employee tell a white co-worker not to use the N-word, a manager allegedly got close to the Black employee’s face and threateningly said the N-word. And when Ross complained to the owner of Parris Pizza, one of the managers threatened Ross with a pair of scissors.
According to the EEOC’s complaint, Parris Pizza took no disciplinary action against the harassers, instead promoting one and giving the other a pay raise. Because of the harassment he had experienced, and Parris Pizza’s failure to protect him from discrimination, Ross was compelled to resign.
Parris Pizza officials could not be reached for comment.
“The allegations in the complaint filed against one of our former franchise owners, if true, are deeply disturbing,“ a Domino’s corporate spokesperson told the Times Herald. “While each franchised store is independently owned and operated, racism has no place in the Domino’s system.”
EEOC New York Acting District Director Timothy Riera said, “Every employee has a right under federal law to a workplace free of racial slurs. Employers cannot ignore this type of behavior but rather must take steps to stop it. When they fail to do so, the EEOC will step in.”
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race. The EEOC filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process. The EEOC seeks back pay, reinstatement, compensatory and punitive damages, and injunctive relief.
The EEOC’s New York District Office is responsible for processing discrimination charges, administrative enforcement, and the conduct of agency litigation in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, northern New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The agency’s Buffalo Local Office conducted the investigation resulting in this lawsuit.
For more information on race and color discrimination, visit www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination. For more information on harassment, visit www.eeoc.gov/harassment.
