Felix Hornsby contends that after he took a job as a maintenance technician at Weir SPM he was taunted repeatedly by his fellow employees who routinely used racial slurs and was even told by one that he simply didn't like to work with blacks.
But Hornsby, a 61-year-old Vietnam veteran who is accustomed to dealing with prejudice, knew things were going too far when one day he was making repairs inside a machine when a forklift operator was told to move it, putting Hornsby in harm's way."We have to look out for each other. Someone else has to watch out," Hornsby said. "The forklift operator didn't know I was inside of the machine, and he was upset when he found out. I could have been seriously injured."As a result of that incident and others, Hornsby sued his former employer in civil court in Tarrant County in November, alleging that he was discriminated against because of his age and race and for complaining to the company about how he was being treated.Fired in June, Hornsby said he has been unable to find other work and lost his house in foreclosure."You'd like to think this stuff doesn't go on, but it does," said Matt Scott, Hornsby's Dallas attorney. "A lot of the discrimination we see in the workplace is more subtle, but it's there nonetheless."In a statement e-mailed to the Star-Telegram, Weir officials said the company is an equal opportunity employer and strives to provide an environment free of discrimination and other types of harassment.Weir SPM, which makes heavy oil field pumps and related equipment and is located in White Settlement, also said the company, which employs about 800 people, received a copy of Hornsby's complaint and that it plans to fight it vigorously."As one of the leading employers in the Fort Worth area, Weir SPM believes it is a leader in providing an inclusive work environment, offering opportunities for growth based on performance and merit and creating a culture of excellence for all employees," the statement says.Hornsby was hired in June 2011 and commuted from his home in Cedar Hill to White Settlement each day.The only black employee in the company's maintenance department, Hornsby said his job involved getting assignments to work on various machinery at the plant.He said the harassment by his co-workers started within a week after he came on the job.One of his co-workers began making disparaging comments about President Barack Obama in Hornsby's presence, and eventually they started calling Hornsby "Obama" and using racial slurs, he said."Another co-worker told me he didn't like working with black people. I told them all I wanted was to do my job and get along," Hornsby said.In an interview and in the lawsuit, Hornsby also described two incidents where he said the harassment resulted in behavior where he could have been seriously injured.Soon after he started, Hornsby was told to climb inside a machine to help replace a conveyor. While he was inside the machine, which had slippery walls with sharp edges, another co-worker told a forklift operator to move the machine while he was still inside, according to the lawsuit. The forklift operator was upset when he learned that Hornsby was in the machine.In another incident involving machine maintenance, an employee told Hornsby that the equipment needed to be repaired, but Hornsby said he would not work on it until the electricity that was still flowing through the device was shut down. A co-worker, however, began working on the machine, which caused an explosion.Hornsby reported what happened to the federal Occupation Safety and Health Administration. Initially, Hornsby said he didn't complain to his supervisors because he wanted to keep his job, but someone else did.Eventually, supervisors moved Hornsby to other shifts but did nothing to stop the racist comments and other harassment, Scott said.On March 29, Hornsby filed an employment discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.Following that complaint, Hornsby was told by his supervisors at Weir SPM that he would have to follow a "performance improvement" plan. Hornsby described how he often was given heavy work, meant for two people.In June of this year, Hornsby was fired. Hornsby then filed discrimination complaints with the EEOC and the Texas Workforce Commission, and on Nov. 1, the Workforce Commission issued Hornsby what is known as a right to sue letter.Since then, Hornsby said, he has sent out 80 résumés but is still looking for another job.Elizabeth Campbell, 817-390-7696Twitter: @fwstlizHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
