Posted by Jenifer Canas-Benavides.
What’s worse than saying something racist? Sending something racially inappropriate with not only your personal phone, but also the business work phone. President of AT&T Aaron Slater was sued for sending a racist photo to a co-worker. The co-worker, Knoyme King, is of African descent. The photo was of an African child dancing with a caption that included an offensive term. How was the photo discovered? An assistant was transferring data to a new phone and discovered the images during the transfer.
The company did not take action when they first heard about the incident, which is why the lawsuit will continue to take place. So exactly how much is this lawsuit going for? It is a $100 million discrimination lawsuit, which names Slater, the company, and other members as the defendants. According to King, she was passed over promotions and raises because of her race. She said she was mistreated and attempts were made to get her to leave the company. She is still employed there after 30 years. Not only is Aaron Slate the problem, but so is the company because the failed to report it right away.
Jenifer is a business administration student at Montclair State University, Class of 2017.