ABM INDUSTRIES ACSS Hostile work environment, racial discrimination. San Diego, California
I too worked at said condominiums. I was the victim of a hostile work environment after I reported racial comments to a co-worker of African-American descent. The co-worker then reported it to supervisor, who was also of African-American descent and a known reverse-racist; nothing whatsoever was done about it until the subject received more attention.
My former co-worker filed a lawsuit afterwards which lead to me being deposed April 20, 2010, in this deposition I referred to the supervisor as a reverse-racist. When I was asked how I came to this conclusion, I informed the individual that my late Step-Father, who was also of African-American descent, worked at the same site for nearly nine years and had witnessed the supervisor's tolerance towards individuals of Hispanic descent over those of African-American descent when it came to disobedience of protocol, to my Step-Father these events were very obvious.
Once I took my former co-worker's side, this led to a hostile work environment where everything I did seemed to be taboo or against regulations, as if information was provided to us pertaining to the rules and I just refused to obey them. I was afraid to state anything about the supervisor's complacency on the mandatory report that was completed by all witnesses of the racial slur. This fear was brought on from the idea of losing my job because the supervisor would hover over me when I was writing my report, saying that he wasn't aware of any racial comments, when in fact he was because I was present when the former co-worker informed him. The co-worker said he was tired of the individual's nasty attitude and racial comments.
Eventually I was removed from the site because of a loan that I requested from one of the residents for an emergency situation. You figure after four and a half years of dedicated employment, only being late twice (Once for a daylight savings time miscalculation and the second time for Trolley repairs that were taking place without my prior knowledge, I use public transportation to go to work) I would have been given a second chance. I'm sure that if I had taken the supervisor's side instead, this would have been swept under the rug just like so many other things committed by other individuals employed there.
I'm happy to share this information with whether or not some type of legal action can be taken.