In the four months Christopher Henson worked for Pilot Flying J as a maintenance worker, he was subjected to racial harassment by a supervisor and a co-worker, including being called a “n—er,” according to a federal lawsuit obtained by Atlanta Black Star.
The Black man from Illinois was also falsely accused of possessing a firearm and drugs while working his shifts, but both those allegations were investigated and determined to be unfounded, the lawsuit, filed last month, states.
After three months of harassment, discrimination and false accusations, Henson requested a transfer within the truck stop company to allow him to work under different supervisors.
But he ended up getting fired instead.
The lawsuit was filed on Aug. 30 against Flying Travel Center LLC, the parent company of Pilot Flying J, which also owns and operates truck stops under various different names throughout the United States and Canada.
It accuses two employees as the main culprits in the racial harassment, including Henson’s former supervisor, a white man named Nico Hardcastle, and a white employee named Bruce (last name unknown).
But when Henson spoke to his supervisor about the harassment, that just made things worse, according to the lawsuit, which describes the harassment in the following paragraphs:
By January 5, 2024, Plaintiff found himself being subjected to near constant derogatory racial slurs, such as the “n_gger,” in the presence of managers who failed to intervene.
On or about January 15, 2024, Plaintiff addressed the issue of racial discrimination with his manager over the phone.
This protected activity of opposing discriminatory practices occurred after Plaintiff was scheduled for work without adequate rest—a practice not applied to Caucasian colleagues.
On or about February 3, 2024, false accusations were made against Plaintiff, including the claim that he possessed a firearm on the premises, which was thoroughly investigated and proven baseless.
Throughout this period, Plaintiff endured unfair treatment from certain team members. This disparate treatment targeting Plaintiff’s race included being subjected to racial slurs and unjust disciplinary actions.
On or about March 10, 2024, Plaintiff faced further unfounded allegations of involvement in drug-related activities.
This pattern of fabricated accusations aimed at terminating Plaintiff’s employment specifically played on racial tropes of African Americans being dangerous criminals.
Henson began working for the company on Nov. 7, 2023, and was fired on March 27. The harassment began in December 2023, he claims.
When it became evident that things were not going to improve, Henson requested a transfer on March 21 with the expectation that it would take three weeks to complete the transfer.
But he was fired less than a week later.
“Defendant’s reason for Plaintiff’s termination was pre-textual for Plaintiff opposing race discrimination and engaging in a protected activity,” the lawsuit states.
“Plaintiff met or exceed Defendant’s performance expectations during the entire duration of Plaintiff’s employment.”
The lawsuit was filed by Nathan C. Volheim from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd. at the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and accuses Pilot Travel Center of racial discrimination, racial harassment and retaliation. Henson is seeking back pay with interest, compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees.
Atlanta Black Star emailed the Pilot Travel Center communications team seeking comment, but the email remains unanswered.
Flying Travel Center is owned by Jimmy Haslam, who also owns the Cleveland Browns football team.
In 2014, Haslam agreed to pay a $92 million settlement to avoid prosecution over a scandal in which the company was accused of stealing $56 million from customers through a fraudulent scheme targeting rebates, the United States Department of Justice reported at the time.
“In the agreement, Pilot confirmed that fraudulent conduct involving diesel fuel price discounts was prevalent within its Direct Sales group and carried out with the knowledge and participation of employees responsible for the operation and oversight of Direct Sales,” according to a USDOJ press release.
“Pilot further confirmed that supervisory employees encouraged participation in discount fraud for the company’s benefit.”
