A Chicago federal court has awarded Robert Smith more than $2.4 million in damages for enduring five years of humiliating sexual and racial harassment at a South Side grocery store.
The Cook County Record stated that Rosebud Farm Stand was ordered to pay Smith more than $800,000 in compensatory damages and $1.6 million in punitive damages for racial and sexual harassment. Smith also named two supervisors, general manager Carlos Castaneda and assistant manager Rocky Mendoza, in the lawsuit. They were both ordered to pay damages.
Smith, who is African-American, worked as a butcher at the grocery store, claims he was subjected to abuse from his Latino co-workers. Smith said that his co-workers harassed him by grabbing his genitals, fondling his buttocks and simulating homoerotic acts.
However, the harassment was not only sexual. Smith’s attorney Joseph Longo, of Longo & Associates, said his co-workers also called him a “monkey” and told him to “go back to Africa.”
Smith filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 2008, but the harassment turned violent. The Cook County Record said Smith alleged his co-workers made threatening gestures towards him and also vandalized his car. The harassment got so bad that Smith eventually quit.
Smith decided to file a lawsuit requesting unspecified damages in 2011.
Longo said other Black employees at the grocery store were also subject to harassment, but declined to come forward. He said victims of racial and sexual harassment have to report the incidents, so they can be addressed in a court of law.
“Unless people file a lawsuit or take action, harassers will continue to create a hostile working environment and harass,” Longo said in an emailed statement following the verdict. “We need more people like Mr. Smith to take a stand and fight for what is right. The jury agreed that what Rosebud did to Mr. Smith was wrong.”
Longo told The Chicago Daily Law Bulletin that Smith’s employer failed to provide a safe work environment. Eight jurors agreed with Longo’s argument.
“I think the jury wanted to send a message,” Longo said. “When you go to work, you don’t surrender your body.”
article by Manny Otiko via atlanticblackstar.com
For those who may have wondered if there’s any good left in the world, just turn to Chicago woman LaToya Ellis as proof there are still people with kind hearts.
The mother of three fell on hard times when she was laid off from her managerial position at the fast-food sandwich chain Jimmy Johns, and later evicted from her apartment. Ellis stayed with friends and family for a while, but eventually moved into a homeless shelter.
Ellis’ story was then covered by local TV Station ABC 7, which quickly went viral with many wondering how they could lend a helping hand. Ellis, who is also an advocate for the homeless, was overwhelmed by the support, but quickly received the best Christmas present when a donor called Ellis and said he’d cover a year’s worth of rent in the neighborhood of her choice.
“It’s indescribable. I didn’t know how to process it,” Ellis said, recalling her reaction when she received the phone call. “No one has ever done anything like that for me.”
Her new home now allows for her children to have their own rooms, and since the gracious gift from the anonymous donor, good samaritans have also offered basic needs such as household supplies, gifts for the children and job services.
Ellis plans to use her year wisely by saving money to open a catering business and eventually finish up her bachelor’s degree. She also intends to spread the goodwill.
“Most of all, I just want to pay it forward,” she said. “I’m going to continue advocating, I’m going to continue volunteering — it’s not just about my family.”
article by Shenequa Golding via vibe.com
The mother of three fell on hard times when she was laid off from her managerial position at the fast-food sandwich chain Jimmy Johns, and later evicted from her apartment. Ellis stayed with friends and family for a while, but eventually moved into a homeless shelter.
Ellis’ story was then covered by local TV Station ABC 7, which quickly went viral with many wondering how they could lend a helping hand. Ellis, who is also an advocate for the homeless, was overwhelmed by the support, but quickly received the best Christmas present when a donor called Ellis and said he’d cover a year’s worth of rent in the neighborhood of her choice.
“It’s indescribable. I didn’t know how to process it,” Ellis said, recalling her reaction when she received the phone call. “No one has ever done anything like that for me.”
Her new home now allows for her children to have their own rooms, and since the gracious gift from the anonymous donor, good samaritans have also offered basic needs such as household supplies, gifts for the children and job services.
Ellis plans to use her year wisely by saving money to open a catering business and eventually finish up her bachelor’s degree. She also intends to spread the goodwill.
“Most of all, I just want to pay it forward,” she said. “I’m going to continue advocating, I’m going to continue volunteering — it’s not just about my family.”
article by Shenequa Golding via vibe.com
