After investigating a Black employee’s complaint that nooses had been found at an ExxonMobil® Refinery Complex, the federal government filed an employment discrimination lawsuit.

The charges allege that Exxon®—one of the largest multinational oil and gas corporations in the U.S.—failed to protect workers from harassment.

After 5 nooses were found at one of its facilities between April 2016 and December 2020, this lack of action is being called a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

According to the EEOC's statement, Exxon® allegedly “investigated some, but not all, of the prior incidents and failed to take measures reasonably calculated to end the harassment” which resulted in “a racially hostile work environment.”

Employee Milferd McGhee filed a complaint against Exxon® with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after he reported the discovery of a noose to a supervisor.

After his discovery, the recent lawsuit says that the company investigated and banned two unidentified contractors but did not take remedial measures, “such as training, counseling or policy changes, to prevent further racial harassment.”

The government is seeking damages for McGhee’s emotional pain and suffering, inconvenience, and humiliation.

Elizabeth Owen, a senior trial attorney for the EEOC's New Orleans office, said about the incident, “A noose is a longstanding symbol of violence associated with the lynching of African Americans.”

Owen went on to describe the nooses as “inherently threatening and significantly alter the workplace environment for Black Americans.”

An Exxon® company spokesperson said that it disagreed with the federal agency's findings.

The spokesperson said, “We encourage employees to report claims like this, and we thoroughly investigated…the symbols of hate are unacceptable, offensive, and in violation of our corporate policies.”

The Louisiana ExxonMobil® Refinery Complex isn’t the only instance of nooses discovered at public facilities and private businesses.

NPR revealed several other findings of nooses in the past few years, including:

• November 2022. Workers at Chicago’s Obama Presidential Center construction site found a noose.
• May 2022. Students at Stanford University found a noose hanging from a tree.
• May 2021. After workers uncovered several nooses at a proposed warehouse site in Connecticut, Amazon opted to halt construction.
• June 2020. Visitors found nooses at a public park in Oakland, California.

There’s a wide range of discrimination prohibited by the laws enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—relevant laws, regulations, and policy guidance can be found at https://www.eeoc.gov/. 

Source: NPR