Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Albertson's LLC

247 F.R.D. 638, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96961, 2007 WL 4277558
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedDecember 3, 2007
DocketCiv.A. No. 06-cv-01273-WYD-BNB
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 247 F.R.D. 638 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Albertson's LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Albertson's LLC, 247 F.R.D. 638, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96961, 2007 WL 4277558 (D. Colo. 2007).

Opinion

ORDER

BOYD N. BOLAND, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter is before me on four motions to intervene:

(1) Motion to Intervene as Party Plaintiff file by James Baxter [Doc. # 116, filed 5/15/2007] (“Motion to Intervene: Baxter”);

(2) Motion for Leave to Intervene as Parties Plaintiffs By Applicants Christopher Adams and James Steadham [Doe. # 126, filed 6/27/2007] (“Motion to Intervene: Adams and Steadham”);

(3) Motion for Leave to Intervene as Party Plaintiff By Applicant Luis Solis Gonzalez [Doc. # 166, filed 8/31/2007] (“Motion to Intervene: Solis”); and

(4) Motion for Leave to Intervene as Party Plaintiff By Applicant Nate Valentine [Doc. # 189, filed 9/17/2007] (“Motion to Intervene: Valentine”).

The motions are GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as specified.

I.

This is an enforcement action brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) on behalf of all black and Hispanic employees subjected to racial and ethnic harassment by Albertson’s LLC at its Distribution Center in Aurora, Colorado. The complaining party is Matthew Ricks. The EEOC’s complaint alleges that [641]*641Mr. Ricks exhausted his administrative remedies through the EEOC by filing “two charges of discrimination with the EEOC on behalf of himself and other similarly situated employees____” Complaint [Doc. # 1] at ¶ 6. The EEOC’s complaint alleges a hostile work environment and harassment by Albertson’s based on race and national origin, id. at First Claim, and disparate treatment with respect to the terms and conditions of employment based on race, color, and/or national origin. Id. at Second Claim. The time frame of the alleged discrimination is from 1995 to the present. Id. at ¶ 8.

The discrimination is based on allegations that employees at the Distribution Center were subjected to graffiti in the form of swastikas and racial slurs, “including the use of the racial slurs ‘n-word’ and ‘spie,’ including references to ‘bastard babies’ and including drawings of Black and Hispanic individuals with ropes around their necks,” id. at ¶ 8(a); statements to black employees “calling them ‘n-words’ or ‘lazy n-words,’ ” id. at ¶ 8(c); and “writing of racial and national origin based slurs on the wall of the candy room with such phrases as ‘the only good spie is a dead spie.’ ” Id. at ¶ 8(d). In addition, it is alleged that Albertson’s failed to prevent or correct the harassment and failed to meaningfully respond to complaints about the harassment. Id. at ¶ 14.

II.

James Baxter is a 54 year old black man who has been employed at the Distribution Center since 1989. He seeks to intervene and to assert claims for race discrimination, age discrimination, and retaliation. Baxter’s race discrimination claim is based on claims of graffiti in the form of swastikas, use of the words “Kunta” and “lazy n-word,” racial insults, and unwarranted discipline and less favorable work assignments because of his race. Baxter has not exhausted his EEOC administrative remedies.

Christopher Adams is black and has worked at the Distribution Center beginning in 2001 until his termination in 2007. Adams seeks to intervene and to assert a hostile work environment claim because he was exposed to racially offensive material at the Distribution Center on a daily basis, including the following: “(a) ‘nigger’; (b) swastikas; (c) ‘nigger cottonpieker’; (d) ‘kill niggers’; (e) ‘die nigger die’; (f) ‘KKK’; (g) ‘white power’; (h) ‘a good nigger is a dead nigger’; (h) drawing of a gun with bullets hitting a black man; and (i) drawing of a black man with a noose around his neck.” Adams also seeks to assert a claim that he was subjected to discriminatory terms and conditions of employment because he was denied favorable jobs, denied assistance, assigned more difficult duties, unfairly disciplined, and denied training based on his race. Adams also seeks to assert a claim that he was subjected to a discriminatory discharge based on his race. Adams has not exhausted his EEOC administrative remedies.

James Steadham is black and has worked at the Distribution Center since the early 1980’s. He seeks to intervene and to assert a hostile work environment claim identical to that asserted by Adams. Steadham has not exhausted his EEOC administrative remedies.

Luis Solis Gonzalez was born in Mexico and is of Mexican-Hispanic national origin. He worked at the Distribution Center from 2002 until August 2007. Solis seeks to intervene and to assert a hostile work environment claim based on offensive ethnic slurs and comments to which he was exposed at the Distribution Center, including:

“[Njigger,” “fucking nigger,” “cholos,” “Mexicans should go back to Mexico,” “dumb Mexicans,” “lazy Mexicans,” and “go back to Mexico” and “go back to Mexico you fucking Mexicans.” He also heard comments to the effect that the workers should speak English because this is the U.S. and not Mexico____ Solis has heard managers and supervisors say “ándele, án-dele” (“hurry up”) over the loudspeaker, and does not recall ever hearing any similar call to hurry up made in English.

Solis also seeks to assert a claim that he was subjected to discriminatory terms and conditions of employment because he was required to do additional work, denied assistance, subjected to a less desirable schedule, denied time off, and publicly humiliated by a superi- or based on his race. Solis has not exhausted his EEOC administrative remedies.

[642]*642Nate Valentine is black. He worked at the Distribution Center from 2000 until February 2003. Valentine seeks to intervene to assert a hostile work environment claim based on racist graffiti and writings to which he was exposed at the Distribution Center, including:

“[Njigger,” “hang the nigger,” “boy,” “go back to Africa,” “a good nigger is a dead nigger,” “coons,” a drawing of a gun with bullets hitting a black man, swastikas, KKK, “white power,” drawing of a black man with big lips in a noose, “nigger cot-tonpicker,” “kill niggers,” drawing of Hitler, “fucking spic,” “fucking wetback,” “cholos,” “wetbacks go back to Mexico,” “lazy Mexicans or Hispanics,” “go back to Mexico,” “Mexicans are taking over,” “Mexicans will work for anything,” “Mexicans will work for free,” and “ándele, án-dele.”
Valentine himself has been referred to as the “token nigger,” and on one occasion, the racist writings were directed at him personally, stating “Nate is a nigger,” or words to that effect.

Valentine also seeks to assert a claim of discriminatory terms and conditions of employment because he observed that work assignments and work schedules at the Distribution Center were made based on race; minorities were harassed by management and unfairly disciplined based on race; he was treated in a disrespectful way by his superiors based on his race; and he received a lower rate of pay based on his race. Valentine has not exhausted his EEOC administrative remedies.

III.

Albertson’s opposes intervention on a number of grounds.

A. Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies

Albertson’s first argues that intervention should be denied because none of the proposed intervenors has exhausted his administrative remedies before the EEOC and received a right to sue letter. The argument is meritless.

In

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247 F.R.D. 638, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 96961, 2007 WL 4277558, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/equal-employment-opportunity-commission-v-albertsons-llc-cod-2007.