Contractor J.A. Croson, a Sorrento, Fla.-based, plumbing and HVAC contractor, has agreed to pay $1.6 million to 17 Black and Hispanic former employees in Florida to settle charges that it subjected them to slurs and deliberately humiliating treatment.

In its lawsuit against the firm, the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission alleged that managers made work assignments based on race and national origin. 

"These racial and ethnic slurs were used by several managers out in the open, within earshot of managerial and non-managerial employees," EEOC charged in an amended complaint filed in federal court in Ocala, Fla.

The agency claimed managers delegated to Black workers the most difficult digging and hauling tasks, with some racist comments also allegedly made outside the workplace.

When two former Black employees complained about their treatment, they were fired, EEOC charged.

In the consent decree settling the charges, J.A. Croson denied that it was liable and that it had violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by allowing a hostile work environment to exist. But, the company stated, it is "J.A. Croson’s position that settlements are favored over continued, costly and uncertain litigation."

EEOC has made a priority of eliminating discrimination in construction work. Few cases reach the full trial phase. When they do, damages received by victims are often small and far from life-changing.

The J.A. Croson settlement is in the form of a three-year consent decree under which the contractor must designate an employee relations hotline for complaints, assign a complaint investigator and provide training to its employees on recognizing workplace harassment. The company will also conduct work environment surveys and audits to ensure race and national origin do not play a role in the delegation of work assignments.

The lawsuit charges date to 2022. In its initial response, J.A. Croson denied many of the hostile work environment allegations, maintained that it had policies to prevent discrimination and made good-faith efforts to head off any harassment or retaliation. 

Employment decisions were “based on legitimate, non-discriminatory and non-retaliatory reasons unrelated to the plaintiff’s race or national origin," the company stated.

EEOC has filed similar discrimination lawsuits pending in federal courts against other construction employers. Legal experts say that employers are much less legally vulnerable if no managers make racial slurs or allow or participate in creating a hostile work environment. If a system for reporting complaints is in place so that any complaints can be promptly investigated, there less chance the EEOC will support charges against employers.