Oil giant ExxonMobil is accused of being aware of several complaints about hanging ropes being placed on the desks of black workers in the US, but did not properly investigate the incidents or take steps to prevent similar incidents in the future, according to a CNN report.
According to the lawsuit, filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), in January 2020 a black worker at the company’s chemical plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana found a hanging rope in his position. This incident joined three similar incidents that happened before and another incident in January. The lawsuit said Because even though they were reported, Exxon did not investigate the incidents and did not prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
“A hanging rope is a longstanding symbol associated with lynchings of African-Americans,” said Elizabeth Owen, an attorney at the EEOC’s New Orleans offices. “These types of symbols create an atmosphere of fear and affect the workplace environment for African-American workers.”
“When employees find out about offensive or threatening racist conduct in the workplace, there is a legal obligation to take preventive and corrective actions aimed at stopping it,” added Rudy Susteita, from the commission’s Houston office.
Exxon Mobil spokesman Todd Spitler said in a statement: “Exxon conducted a comprehensive investigation of the complaint, and found no evidence to support allegations of discrimination,” he said. He also added that Exxon has a policy of “zero tolerance towards any form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace and we have established several ways for employees, contractors, suppliers and customers to safely report incidents of this type”.
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