A federal lawsuit filed Monday in Chicago accused Comcast Corp. of discriminating against the African-American employees of its South Side facility and its own customers by requiring workers to install defective or bug-infested equipment into residents' homes.
Eleven current and former workers in Comcast Corp.'s South Side facility are seeking class-action status, alleging that since at least 2005, the media company "has engaged in an ongoing pattern of race discrimination against African-American employees" at its South Side location, according to the complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division.
The group includes 10 current employees and one former worker who was fired in 2009, according to the lawsuit. The plaintiffs, on average, have worked for Comcast for 15 years.
The employees — technicians, who are responsible for installing and repairing cable equipment in customers' homes and for diagnosing and repairing large-scale cable outages — described the South Side facility as a "hostile" work environment where they were called derogatory names including "ghetto techs" or "lazy techs."
The plaintiffs also claim that the South Side operation, located at 721 E. 112th St., was infested with roaches and rats, and until it was renovated in 2009, had a leaky roof and was not temperature controlled.
A Comcast representative denied the allegations.
"Comcast adamantly denies the allegations and will vigorously defend itself in court," said company spokeswoman Angelynne Amores. "As this relates to pending litigation, we cannot comment any further," she wrote in an email.
The Comcast employees claimed that they would find roaches crawling in and out of cable equipment and that Comcast required them to install the equipment regardless of whether it was defective, roach-infested or both, in the homes of their predominantly African-American customers.
When the technicians complained about the faulty equipment, they said management was dismissive, telling them that the customer would be "evicted in a few months" or that "South Side customers are more likely to steal equipment or not pay their bills."
By contrast, the suit alleged that facilities that are not staffed primarily by African-Americans and do not have a primarily African-American customer base "are provided with the necessary tools and new customer equipment."
The employees also alleged that Comcast failed to provide them with equal pay, fair evaluations and opportunities for advancement as their North Side or suburban-based counterparts.
"The mistreatment of the black customers contributed to the hostile environment for Comcast's African-American employees," said Noelle Brennan, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs. The bad equipment would result in longer service outages and service calls that negatively impacted the employees' evaluations, Brennan added, "which would negatively impact their pay and promotional opportunities."
The workers are seeking lost wages and benefits as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
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