Construction Worker Files Harassment Suit Over Noose in East Bay
A Lafayette construction superintendent has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, a large real estate developer, claiming he was the victim of a campaign of racial harassment and discrimination that culminated when his boss attempted to throw a noose around his neck.
When the worker, an African American man identified only as Nicholas P. in court documents due to fears for his safety, sent pictures of the noose to the owner of the company — SRM Development — he was called a “snitch,” subjected to further harassment and eventually forced to leave his job, said his lawyer, Leslie Levy.
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According to the complaint, on Aug. 7, 2014, Nicholas was working at his desk at a Lafayette work site when he felt something hit the hard hat he was wearing. He looked up and saw a noose with a hangman’s knot hanging over his cubicle wall and heard his supervisor say, “Did I get him? That’s how we do them in Idaho,” while laughing and continuing to dangle the noose, the suit alleges.
Nicholas left early, but when he returned to work the next day, the noose still hung on his cubicle until an engineer with SRM moved it to the center of the room because it would “fit (Nicholas) better there,” according to court records.
When Nicholas came back from lunch that day, he found a wanted poster of an African American man hung in the noose with his name written on it, Levy said.
More: Construction Worker Files Harassment Suit Over Noose in East Bay - SFGate