Duke employee fired after reporting boss’s comments on ‘lazy’ Black workers, suit says
A former employee of Duke University is suing the college because he says he was fired after reporting discriminatory and racist comments made by his supervisor, according to a lawsuit.
In his lawsuit filed May 5 in U.S. District Court in North Carolina, Matthew Freetage described how university employees repeatedly made racist remarks and retaliated against him and other staff members who reported these instances.
“While we can’t comment on active litigation, we thoroughly investigate allegations of discrimination and take appropriate action when we identify violations of our policies and core values. We have zero tolerance for retaliation against anyone who reports such allegations,” Katie Galbraith, president of Duke Regional Hospital, said in a statement to McClatchy News on May 7.
Freetage started working at the Duke Regional Hospital on Sept. 14, 2020, as an operations manager for the environmental services department, the lawsuit states.
During his first meeting with his supervisor, Freetage says he was asked “whether he had a problem supervising ‘blacks’”and added that he needed to “start writing up ‘those people’ in order to ‘keep them in line.’”
That same month, Freetage said he “overheard a conversation regarding management’s instructions to ‘clean house’ in his department, specifically discussing their intent to fire ‘colored’ workers who they said were ‘lazy,’” the lawsuit states.
When Freetage asked whether their diversity training could be applicable in this situation, the lawsuit states an administrative assistant laughed at his question and responded “Yeah that’s all bull****. We don’t actually do that around here. It’s all for show.”
Freetage said he reported the conversation to the human resources department that month and was told his concerns were a “priority,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states none of the employees present during the conversation were disciplined.
Following the complaint, Freetage said he was retaliated against by the other employees, according to the lawsuit.
In another instance, the lawsuit stated that when Freetage and his supervisor were reviewing job candidates, the supervisor showed him a picture of a Black applicant that had pink hair and makeup and stated “Do you think I want that walking around this place? Delete. This ain’t the ghetto.’”
In December 2020, Freetage told human resources that one of his colleagues was being fired because of “non-existent disciplinary actions.”
Again, Freetage reached out to the administration and in a letter to the hearing committee stated his colleague was “the subject of severe mistreatment, discrimination and harassment from the management staff,” the lawsuit said.
As part of his statement, Freetage also reported his supervisor’s comments telling him to write up “blacks.”
A month later, on Jan. 11, 2021, Freetage was fired by that same manager, according to the lawsuit.
In March 2021, Freetage filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, court documents show.
Freetage is suing Duke on counts of retaliation and wrongful discharges.
On May 6, a summons was issued to Duke University Health System, court records show.
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Duke employee fired after reporting boss’s comments on ‘lazy’ Black workers, suit says."
