U.S. agency sues Exxon for discrimination after nooses found at plant

Exxon Mobil Corp was sued for racial discrimination by a U.S. federal company on Thursday, with costs alleging that the oil main failed to guard employees from harassment after nooses have been discovered at one among its amenities in 2020.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) mentioned in a press release {that a} Black worker at Exxon’s chemical plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, discovered a hangman’s noose at his work web site in January 2020.

The EEOC mentioned that on the time of this report, Exxon was already conscious of three different such situations of nooses being displayed on the advanced and a close-by refinery, and {that a} fifth noose was reported later in 2020.

According to the EEOC, Exxon investigated a few of these incidents, however not all, and “failed to take measures reasonably calculated to end the harassment.”

The federal company alleged that Exxon’s actions and omissions concerning the noose incidents “created a racially hostile work environment.”

Exxon mentioned it disagreed with the EEOC’s findings and allegations.

“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,” Exxon mentioned in a press release.

Reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing