In a federal discrimination lawsuit seeking $3.5 million, an African-American woman formerly employed by the Savannah River Site’s security contractor says she was terminated for accidentally leaving her gun in a bathroom, while a white employee kept her job after making the same error.
In the complaint, filed Monday in U.S. District Court for South Carolina, Marcialena Brown said there are several similarities between the circumstances surrounding her incident and the white employee’s. That leaves no rhyme or reason as to why one remained employed by Centerra-Savannah River Site and the other was terminated, according to the complaint.
On May 2, 2015, Brown, an officer with Centerra, left her M4 rifle in the women’s bathroom unattended for about five minutes, the lawsuit says. About three weeks later, she was fired after 16 years with the company. In that process, Brown alleges Centerra did not follow its own disciplinary procedures, though she did not explain exactly what those procedures involve.
More than three years later, in September 2018, a white female employee left her Glock 40 handgun in a bathroom unattended. Brown said she learned of the incident in November 2018 and found out the employee was issued a written warning. “I felt that the Company’s decision was unfair and discriminatory,” she wrote in the suit.
Brown appears to have filed the lawsuit, as she speaks for herself in the complaint there is no mention of legal representation. She is seeking $3 million in compensatory damages for unfair dismissal, distress, and mental suffering, along with $500,000 in punitive damages.
Centerra has not yet filed a response to the suit.
The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.-based company provides security support services for the 310-square-mile Savannah River Site, near Aiken, S.C., including access control, property protection, law enforcement, criminal investigations, and traffic control. Centerra’s 10-year, $990 million contract expires on Oct. 7. It has said it would complete for the follow-on contract, which has not yet been awarded.
