EEOC Sues ExxonMobil for Title VII and Title I Racial Harassment Violations

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued ExxonMobil in Louisiana federal court. The EEOC alleged that the company failed to take action after five nooses were found on an oil refinery complex over a four-year period.

Case background

The EEOC is suing on behalf of Milferd McGhee, an employee of ExxonMobil Corp. They allege that the corporation violated Title VII and Title I of the Civil Rights Act by failing to take action when the nooses—evidence of racial harassment—were found on the property. Nooses are associated with lynching Black people, especially in the South, and thus the corporation enabled a hostile work environment for McGhee, who is Black.

McGhee began working at the Baton Rouge chemical plant and oil refinery in 2010. Between 2016 and 2020, five nooses were found on the property. While ExxonMobil “investigated the incident and subsequently banned two contractors from the complex,” the company did not take further measures like trainings or policy changes. In 2019, two more nooses were found. The company issued a report to recommend changes to discourage harassment. These changes were not fully implemented before the fourth and fifth nooses were discovered, including one tied at McGhee’s worksite.

The EEOC claims that “ExxonMobil's actions were malicious and/or in reckless disregard of Mr. McGhee's federally protected right to be free from racial discrimination in the workplace.” Meanwhile, ExxonMobil disagrees with the allegations, stating that the company investigated the nooses and “did not find that they were motivated by discrimination,” yet denounced the nooses as “unacceptable, offensive, and in violation of our corporate policies.” A spokesperson for the company said “We have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of harassment or discrimination in the workplace and have established multiple ways for employees, contractors, suppliers, or customers to safely report incidents of this nature.”

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