A construction company in Fort Worth accused of hanging nooses and displaying white supremacy symbols will pay $525,000 to settle a federal lawsuit.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued TNT Crane & Rigging in 2023 alleging that it violated federal law by harassing and discriminating against five Black employees.
Black employees reported frequent racist jokes and slurs, according to the lawsuit. Nooses and lightning-bolt stickers, a common white supremacy symbol, were openly displayed in the workplace, including in the company’s Dallas branch, which closed.
The branch manager reportedly called the noose a “cowboy knot.” In one instance, a white employee told a Black employee that Black people are lazy, the lawsuit said. TNT repeatedly failed to address or investigate employees’ complaints, the lawsuit alleged.
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After one employee complained, the tires of his car were flattened at work. Another employee shoved, threatened and cursed at him, according to the lawsuit.
When a white employee reported his concerns to managers and human resources, the company reduced his pay and work hours, the lawsuit says. The branch manager called him a “troublemaker” and accused him of “stirring the pot,” and fellow employees called him a “snitch,” the lawsuit says. He eventually resigned because of intolerable work conditions and harassment.
“It has been more 60 years since the passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, yet racial harassment, such as the use of racial epithets and the display of white supremacist symbols, continues to be a recurring problem in the American workplace,” Brian Hawthorne, a trial attorney for the federal commission, said in a statement. “Employers must act forcefully to protect their workers from such behavior.”
In addition to paying $525,000 to the five workers, TNT Crane is required to adopt and implement an anti-harassment and discrimination policy, establish retaliation prevention and complaint procedures and provide non-discrimination training to employees. The company must report future employee complaints of racial harassment and discrimination to the federal employment commission.
On its website, TNT describes itself as one of the largest crane service providers in North America. The company began in Houston in 1985 and has since grown to 40 branches across North America. In addition to the Fort Worth location, TNT has offices in Austin, Corpus Christi, Midland and Oklahoma City.
Reached for comment Friday, the Fort Worth office directed The Dallas Morning News to the company’s Houston office, which did not immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment.
Discrimination against people of color and women in the construction industry is pervasive, according to the employment agency. At a 2022 hearing addressing the issue, then-agency chair Charlotte A. Burrows said women and people of color have long been shut out of construction jobs or face discrimination at work.
“Discrimination and harassment in construction can be especially harsh and virulent, including displays of nooses; threats and physical harassment; and sometimes physical or sexual assaults,” Burrows said in a statement. “Yet, often workers do not know where to go to seek help.”