Ohio football fans may be interested to learn that two former employees of the Detroit Lions filed a lawsuit against the Lions and the NFL for age and racial discrimination. The lawsuit was filed in Wayne County Circuit Court on April 5 by a former director of video operation and a former assistant video director.
Although it was noted that the Lions have been going through a department-wide change in personnel since January 2016, the two former employees had been employed by the team for a long period of time. One of the employees said that he made complaints about certain racial comments that were being made by another employee. He was terminated soon after making the complaints. The other employee was fired after allegedly standing up for the terminated employee. However, he alleged that he had racial comments made towards him as well.
According to an attorney for the former employees, the two men were seeking compensation for lost wages and emotional distressed caused by their terminations. The court stipulations noted that the amount being sought was in excess of $25,000.
It is illegal for companies to allow racial discrimination to occur in the workplace. If an employee reports incidents of discrimination, which can include racial comments, and the employer fails to come to a proper resolution, the victim may have some legal options. An attorney could review the case to determine if workplace discrimination did occur and if the employee’s rights were violated. If the client has a case, the attorney may file a lawsuit in an effort to recover damages.