More than a dozen current and former employees of a Comcast facility on Chicago’s South Side have filed a federal class-action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination.
The suit, filed Monday in federal court, claims supervisors at the facility at 721 E. 112th St. fostered a “hostile” work environment and told technicians to install equipment in customers’ homes regardless if the device was defective or infested with cockroaches.
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Comcast is the majority stakeholder in NBCUniversal, which owns NBC Chicago.
According to the complaint (.pdf), the plaintiffs said they:
- Worked in “substandard facilities which were infested with cockroaches and rats,”
- Didn’t receive necessary tools to provide adequate service to its customers,
- Didn’t receive equal pay and fair evaluations,
- Didn’t receive training or promotions to higher-level positions,
- Were referred to in racially derogatory ways,
- Were told that equipment given to African American employees would be stolen, and
- Had workplace rules and regulations applied in a racially based manner.
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