A former Pilgrim’s Pride employee filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama against the company for alleged racial discrimination and retaliatory termination after he was allegedly assaulted by a white co-worker.
The suit was filed on December 22.
The plaintiff, Steven Powell, an African American, worked as a forklift operator at Pilgrim’s Pride, according to court documents. On May 7, 2020, a co-worker, Rodney Jackson, asked him to move a broken cage to be repaired, which he did, the lawsuit alleges. Following that, “Jackson began to yell and insult (Powell)” and Jackson eventually “struck him in the face.” The suit said Powell did not retaliate.
Shortly after that, Powell was taken to the plant's human resources office and was sent home for the day. Later, Powell was allegedly told that he was the aggressor, not Jackson, and he was transferred to another shift to avoid being around Jackson, reported Law Street Media. Following the alleged incident, Powell was asked to sign a weapons sheet, but he refused since he had already signed one upon his hiring.
According to the complaint, Jackson was moved to the same shift as Powell several days after the incident, and continued to work alongside him through December where harassing behavior against Powell allegedly continued. Powell was terminated on December 4, 2020, following an incident in which Jackson allegedly prevented Powell from clocking out.
Powell is suing on the counts of racial discharge, hostile work environment and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and 42 U.S.C. Section 1981.
The plaintiff seeks to be rehired to his position along with back pay with employment benefits. He also seeks special and punitive damages, as well as attorney’s fees and costs.
The case number is 4:21-cv-01695-CLM.
Powell is being represented by the Birmingham law firm Barrett & Farahany.
Pilgrim's Pride, according to the WATTPoultry.com Top Companies Database, is the second largest poultry company in the United States.
