Jacksonville-based Fanatics sued over alleged racial discrimination, harassment

A Jacksonville-based sports merchandise retail company is being sued by the federal government for allegedly subjecting employees to racial discrimination, harassment, and retaliation for making complaints.

The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has brought the civil suit against Fanatics Retail Group, Inc. The EEOC says they tried to settle ahead of litigation, but that was not successful, leading them to put forward the complaint in federal court.

The complaint reflects allegations from a Fanatics employee, Vincent Perkins, who was hired in 2012 to work in the Screen Department. He says the workplace was “significantly” divided on racial lines, with white employees getting more favorable treatment than black employees. Among the allegations of wrongdoing, the complaint says Fanatics would let white employees sit around, where black employees would be yelled at; white team leaders would accept work from white employees that was identical to work of black employees, but the work of the black employees would be rejected; white employees were allowed to sit and talk, where black employees were told to clean up; and more.

“The way these people at this company are treated is deplorable! If you’re white and they consider you one of their own, you can do no wrong… sadly, if you are a minority, you are treated like uneducated slave labor,” says a former Operations Administration, according to the court filing.

The complaint further alleges inappropriate and racially charged language was used, including calling a black employee “baboon” and referring to “Aunt Jemima lips”. White supervisors and employees are further alleged to have said things like “Africans in Europe know their place, but not in the United States”, “I don’t like working with the brothers”, “I don’t like working with the lazy n-words”, and more.

Beyond what was said, the complaint claims that Perkins was retaliated against when he reported what was happening in the workplace. The complaint says the employee had been promised a promotion, but after complaining about the treatment of black employees, his supervisor then told him he would never get promoted, and the position was given to an employee who was less qualified.

Fanatics also allegedly encouraged black employees not to report complaints to HR, and then failed to take proper corrective action when complaints were made. The complaint further alleges that an employee who complained would face retaliation, including being fired or forced out. Perkins suffered increased harassment after his complaints, according to the court filing, including seeing his staff cut and having his supervisor falsely try write him up.

The EEOC calls the alleged behavior “abhorrent”.

“This type of outrageous discrimination has no place in the workplace. We hope that our lawsuit will send a message, not only to the defendant, but to the entire manufacturing and retail industry, that the EEOC will not tolerate this kind of misconduct- or retaliation for complaining about it,” says a statement from EEOC District Director Michael Farrell.

In response to this lawsuit, a spokesperson for Fanatics is disputing the claims.

“Fanatics is committed to treating all employees fairly and takes complaints like this very seriously. We deny any wrongdoing and look forward to vigorously defending these claims in court,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.

Because of the ongoing litigation, the company declined any further comment.

The complaint seeks not only to bar Fanatics from discriminating and engaging in retaliation, but also requests Perkins get back pay, compensation for pain and suffering, punitive damages, and other support.

Cox Media Group