Is Facebook Guilty of Racial Discrimination? By Dan Atkerson on December 05, 2016

Facebook is facing a racial discrimination lawsuit after two African American employees claim a manager created unfair work conditions.

Robert Baron Duffy and Robert Louis Gary both worked at a Facebook data center in North Carolina. They claim that their manager repeatedly treated them unfairly and used racial slurs in the workplace. They also noted that many of the company’s white employees were paid higher starting salaries, despite often having less experience than African Americans working at the company.

According to the case, when the two men expressed their concerns with Facebook management, they were ignored. They are now accusing the company of both racial discrimination and workplace retaliation.

Is Facebook Guilty of Racial Discrimination?

The plaintiffs claim that management at the company was aware of the issues but did nothing. The men allegedly made a complaint that would have gone to Facebook leadership in California. After receiving the complaint, they say the company treated them even more poorly.

A Facebook representative, however, said that the manager has been fired and that Facebook is closely monitoring the data center to ensure that the behavior is never repeated. The company denies having any discriminatory policies and claims that the employees have not been mistreated for voicing their concerns. The representative also claims that Gary is still employed at Facebook on good terms, and that Duffy’s resignation was voluntary.

It is up the courts to determine whether Facebook is guilty. Hopefully all evidence will be considered, and they will come to the right decision. Either way, it is important that we continue to build awareness for workplace discrimination, and continue to pressure large corporations like Facebook to do the right thing. Everyone deserves the right to be judged based on the quality of their work, and not the color of their skin.

Dan A. Atkerson is a Dallas employment lawyer who fights passionately on behalf of victims of racial discrimination, national origin discrimination and other forms of workplace injustice.