Chicago man files federal complaint after finding noose in work locker
CHICAGO - An African American worker at a North Side Chicago beverage company says he was stunned to find a stuffed animal hanging from a noose in his work locker.
Now, he is filing a federal discrimination complaint against the business.
"I thought I was fitting in fine with the company," said 38-year-old Jermaine Burton, who said he was happy to land a job in the production facility of Tampico Beverages last December.
Tampico is a Chicago-based company that distributes fruit juices across the country and internationally.
The father of five said he's the only African American working at the Chicago plant, and he soon began hearing racial slurs from one of his co-workers.
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"What led up to all of this is when an employee called me the N-word on the floor," Burton said.
Not long after that, Burton says he found a hand drawn sign with the same word taped to a wall in one of the bathrooms, and then at the end of another workday, he said he opened his locker to change and found a stuffed animal dangling at the end of a noose.
"It's 2022. That's what went through my mind," Burton said. "I thought we was beyond that. But it also made me feel like – you know when you see a noose from the slavery days it means you gotta get out or we're going to kill you."
Burton said he had a clean work record and no disciplinary record, until he started complaining about the racial harassment.
"I showed them the video and the text message evidence that was going on. They just acted like nothing was going on. They just tried to sweep it under the rug," Burton said.
Employment attorney David Fish filed a complaint earlier this month with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging racial discrimination against Burton, and retaliation.
"Mr. Burton, he's African American. He's got five kids and he just wants to make a living," Fish said. "He didn't want to deal with any of this. He just wants to show up and go to work. And he's entitled to do this without being called the N-word."
In a statement, a spokesman for Tampico Beverages said this is the first they've heard of the complaint.
"In our more than 30 year history in Chicago we have very proudly employed an incredibly diverse and inclusive workforce - and have successfully maintained a policy that strictly prohibits any kind of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation in our workplace. As such, we intend to fully investigate the allegations raised in your email and take any appropriate corrective action that may be warranted based on our findings."
It could take the EEOC up to a year to rule on Burton's claim.
Burton has been off the job recently because of an injury, but he says he plans to return in the next couple weeks, and hopes his complaint will have changed the workplace culture.