United Airlines will pay a $99,000 settlement after federal regulators charged a former employee of Mongolian descent experienced a hostile work environment based on race and national origin at the Denver International Airport hub.
An Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit charged an Asian American employee was called a racial slur, physically assaulted and had his job threatened based on his race and national origin, the EEOC’s said. Despite physical assault allegations, the commission said United Airlines delayed investigating the employee’s internal complaints.
Per the employee’s allegations, United Airlines violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits workplace harassment, discrimination and retaliation for reporting the aforementioned acts.
The EEOC then filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Colorado.
The discrimination reportedly occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic — the same period when anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes surged across the United States.
Nonprofit organization Stop AAPI Hate reported receiving 10,905 accounts of hate acts between March 2020 and December 2021.
United Airlines will also implement workplace policy changes and safety protocols as part of the federal lawsuit settlement, Aviation A2Z reported. The former employee will also receive 75,000 flight miles.
The airline giant also pledged to investigate future allegations involving physical violence within 72 hours. Additional agreements include revisiting the Equal Employment Opportunity guidelines, posting employee notices and routinely providing the commission with compliance reports.
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