Houston-based U.S. Concrete will pay $135,000 to settle a
national origin, age and retaliation lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against its Memphis
subsidiary, Titan Concrete.
The EEOC charged in its suit against Titan Concrete (Civil Action
No. 2:09-cv-02208-JPM-cgc, filed in U.S. District Court for the
Western District of Tennessee) that company officials harassed and
discriminated against a Thai-American employee because of his East
Asian national origin and age. David Piyavunno, a sales technician,
was called “J-p” (although he is of Thai ancestry, not Japanese),
subjected to insensitive ageist comments, and then removed from the
sales department and demoted to a driver job because of his age and
national origin.
After Piyavunno complained about the discrimination, he was further
harassed, including being assigned to defective trucks, and repeatedly
threatened with firing. Further, after Titan moved Piyavunno out of
sales, it hired two unqualified white men into that department,
without an application process that would have given Piyavunno the
chance to apply for the positions. Ultimately Piyavunno resigned after
the work environment at Titan became too hostile to endure.
All this alleged conduct violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
as well as the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).
Faye A. Williams, EEOC regional attorney in Memphis, said, “Titan
Concrete officials subjected Mr. Piyavunno to humiliating and
demeaning unlawful behavior based on a combination of discriminatory
attitudes. Part of the EEOC’s work is to challenge complicated
combinations of illegal discriminatory behaviors like this that harm
employees, and to assure that fair remedies are achieved. We believe
we have accomplished that in the settlement of this case.”
Other than the award of monetary damages, the four-year consent
decree that resolved the lawsuit also includes injunctive relief that
enjoins Titan Concrete from further discriminating based on age,
national origin, and retaliation; requires employment discrimination
trainings for senior managers involved in hiring and promotion; and
mandates settlement compliance reporting to the EEOC.