EEOC FILES RACE DISCRIMINATION SUIT AGAINST AUGUSTA FIBERGLASS

COLUMBIA, SC -- The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit today against Augusta Fiberglass and Coating, Inc., alleging that a class of African American employees was subjected to race discrimination and a racially hostile working environment from 1979 until present at the company's Blackville, South Carolina, plant.

According to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina in Orangeburg, Augusta Fiberglass violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  Court papers allege employees at Augusta Fiberglass were subjected to racial slurs, insults,  and even violent attacks and threats.  EEOC alleges some of the Black employees of Augusta Fiberglass were spit upon by white supervisors, and were ordered to work in a segregated, filthy, unsafe and dangerous environment.  EEOC's lawsuit seeks back wages, compensatory damages, punitive damages and other relief for African Americans who were employed after October 1, 1994.

Reuben Daniels, Acting Director of the EEOC's Charlotte District Office, stated: "Our agency will aggressively litigate cases against employers which are guilty of egregious, systemic and ongoing racial harassment and race discrimination."

EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; the Equal Pay Act; prohibitions against discrimination affecting individuals with disabilities in the federal sector; sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1991; and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in the private sector and state and local governments.  Additional information is available at EEOC's website at www.eeoc.gov.