JEFFERSON CITY — The Supreme Court of Missouri delivered a major victory today for 11 Black employees, ruling that their hostile work environment and aiding and abetting racial discrimination lawsuits against Harley-Davidson Motor Company Operations, Inc. and Syncreon.US will proceed.
The lawsuit alleges a deeply segregated and racially hostile climate at Harley-Davidson’s Kansas City plant. The workers faced a horrifying campaign of racial terror spanning from 2017 to 2019, which included nooses, swastikas, a doll of a Black woman hanging by a noose, and violent racist graffiti. Adding to the abuse, management allegedly suppressed these incidents by throwing an assaulted employee’s complaint in the trash, ordering workers to delete photos of racist graffiti, and cutting up and destroying a noose found on the premises.
A lower court initially dismissed the 11 of the 18 plaintiffs’ claims, arguing they had not “personally experienced” the specific acts of harassment. Today, the Missouri Supreme Court definitively struck down that reasoning, declaring that incidents like nooses and racist threats “by their very nature, targeted and preyed on all black employees in the Plant”.
The 18 plaintiffs are represented by Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC and Chapel Law Firm, LLC. “This momentous ruling is a profound vindication for these 18 plaintiffs, who have shown incredible courage in standing up against horrific, systemic racism,” said Cyrus Dashtaki. “The defense tried to silence them by arguing they didn’t ‘personally experience’ the abuse, but the Missouri Supreme Court recognized the truth: a noose in the workplace is an act of terror against every Black employee.” Dashtaki added, “Today is about empowerment. These 18 workers refused to be divided or silenced. They are taking their power back, and we will hold Harley-Davidson and Syncreon fully accountable for the climate of fear they fostered, endorsed, and tried to sweep under the rug.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling vacates the earlier dismissal and empowers the 11 plaintiffs to rejoin the case and return to the circuit court and present their case to a jury to hold both Harley-Davidson and Syncreon accountable for “aiding and abetting” the abusive discriminatory conduct.
Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC exclusively represents employees standing up against employment discrimination based on age, race, sex, religion, national origin or disability. Please visit www.Dashtaki.com for more information.