A federal judge recently ruled in favor of Savannah River Remediation (SRR) in a discrimination case in which a former employee alleged he was mistreated as the only white man working with several black employees. Roman Moss first alleged on Sept. 29, 2014, that he was given a “heavier workload” than his black co-workers after he was hired in May 2011. Moss filed suit against the Savannah River Site’s liquid waste management contractor in the Charleston division of the U.S. District Court for South Carolina.
The complaint also lists the Department of Energy facility itself and several other contractors as defendants, though SRR is the only company listed as having employed Moss.
Moss’ job title at SRR is not clear, but the original complaint states that his responsibilities included working in contaminated areas and transporting items to various areas at the site. In multiple incidents from May 2011 to May 2012, Moss alleged that his black co-workers received better treatment than him, including one incident in which he said a tent, water cooler, radio, gloves, and vest were provided to everyone but him. In another instance, Moss said he was told to carry a gas can about a mile across the site, but was not allowed to use a golf cart. Along the way, a co-worker pulled up in a golf cart and told Moss she had been sent to transport the gas can because he was taking too long, according to the complaint.
All the while, Moss alleged he was subjected to racial slurs and verbal discrimination. When he met with SRR labor relations officials, Moss said the verbal abuse increased and that he was laid off around May 2012. He was offered his job back, but refused since he believes he would have been subjected to the same abuse, according to the complaint.
Moss was seeking back pay and benefits he said he would have earned if he had remained employed with SRR, as well as front pay and benefits at an amount determined by the court. He was also seeking any other amounts determined by the court for the emotional distress and embarrassment he suffered.
In a response dated Dec. 11, 2014, SRR denied the claims, stating that the complaint “lacks sufficient information to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations.”
After a series of motions and other court filings, Judge Michelle Childs ruled in favor of SRR in a Sept. 28 summary judgment. The contractor is asking for $1,143.10 to pay for the cost of recorded transcripts it had to print out for the case. Moss has until Oct. 20 to deny and/or counter that request.
Moss’ lawyers could not be reached for comment, and SRR declined to discuss the resolution of the lawsuit.
This is not the first time the site has been involved in a discrimination suit. On Aug. 30, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the SRS management and operations contractor, settled a lawsuit with a Hispanic former employee who alleged she was slighted for a job promotion that was given to a white woman and subsequently was wrongly terminated in January 2015.
In another case, the U.S. Department of Labor ordered SRNS in August 2015 pay $234,895 to 72 black and female workers. The Labor Department stated that, between 2009 and 2010, SRNS paid 57 female employees less than their male counterparts and 15 African-American employees less than their white counterparts. The contractor was also told to review its personnel policies to resolve allegations of systemic pay discrimination.
SRNS responded that it disagreed with the findings, but that it was “happy to reconfirm our company’s commitment to non-discrimination and equal employment opportunities offered to all of our employees, regardless of their race, gender or membership in any of the other categories protected by law.” The contractor entered into a Conciliation Agreement with the Labor Department’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) on Aug. 11, 2015 and fully complied with the requirements of the agreement.
One of those requirements included the development of improved compensation practices to ensure women are receiving fair pay. Other met tasks include the development of an internal auditing system that periodically measures the effectiveness of the SRNS affirmative action program, and evaluating other possible gender and race disparities within the organization.
