On the 50th Anniversary of the MLK Jr I Have a Dream Speech, Three African-American Former Employees of Brentwood Shoe Store Frontrunners Sue for Millions After Allegedly Called Racial Slurs for Years Former Employees Brandyn Toney, Uchenna Okezie and Nathaniel Gordon Sue Pasadena, CA -- Sep 02, 2013 / (myprgenie) -- On the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.s I Have a Dream Speech, three African‐American men in Los Angeles seek to stop the alleged racial verbal abuse from their former employer. Three former employees of the Brentwood shoe store FrontRunners -Brandyn Toney, Uchenna Okezie, and Nathaniel Gordon -- seek to have their voices heard a week after filing a lawsuit against their former employer in Los Angeles Superior Court. All three plaintiffs in the case are represented by civil rights attorney Barbara Figari. The lawsuit, case BC518770, was filed at 4:03pm of August 19, 2013 in Stanley Mosk Court House. The case alleges that store manager, Niles Bunnag, frequently referred to the African‐American employees by racial epithets slurs including nigger, monkey and chicken head. The racial slur monkey is an epithet used to degrade African‐Americans by comparing them to animals, while chicken head is a racial epithet used to refer to either African‐American females or unemployed African‐American males. Brandyn Toney, the Brentwood store top performing sales associate, alleges in court documents that he experienced the verbal abuse for three years, during which time he contacted top management and human resources officials requesting that the company make Mr. Bunnag stop harassing employees. According to court documents Mr. Toney, Mr. Okezie and Mr. Gordon felt they had no choice but to resign when no punitive action was taken against Bunnag. Wed be pursuing this case to bring awareness to the public, to let them know that in 2013, a company needs take racial harassment seriously and it cant be swept under the rug, said Toney. When asked about how this case pertains to the anniversary of Dr. King speech, plaintiff Nate Gordon said Dr. King once spoke about a dream in which his four children lived in a world where they were judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character. The racial name‐calling and harassment my coworkers and I endured while working at FrontRunners, proves that even in 2013, Dr King dream has still not come to fruition. Young, educated African-Americans still endure hurtful, embarrassing, racially charged language in the workplace. We are still fighting to see Dr. King dreams of equal treatment, free of racial judgment, exist in reality. FrontRunners, located at 11620 San Vicente Blvd, is an elite athletic shoe store frequented by the likes of Bradley Cooper, Reese Witherspoon, Sofia Vergara, Kevin Spacey, Adam Sandler, Julianne Hough, Brooke Shields and Cindy Crawford. African‐American actor, Don Cheadle, who was known to shop at FrontRunners was asked for comment on Twitter, Tuesday, April 20. He joked ... In hindsight, that whites only sign should have tipped me off. He later stated to be clear, I have no knowledge of what was alleged. I was being flip. Due process remains. The plaintiffs are suing for an undisclosed amount and an injunction to stop further alleged racial harassment from occurring. This release was written and researched by The Figari Law Firm. The Figari Law Firm is proud to represent Brandyn Toney, Uchenna Okezie and Nathaniel Gordon as they seek justice for racial harassment they were forced to endure at FrontRunners. Contact: Barbara Figari, katie@figarilaw, 626.486.2620 Category: Legal Issues, Entertainment, Criminal Law Word Count:572 Tags: Racial Harassment, Wrongful Termination, Celebrity Store, Discrimination Lawsuit Weblinks: The Figari Law Firm A Professional
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 19:02:40 +0000