NEW YORK-Nextel Communications Inc., Reston, Va., can expect a total of 302 current and former employees to file complaints against it with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging discrimination based on age, gender and race.
As a prelude to filing a discrimination lawsuit, for which it will seek class-action status, the New York law firm of Leeds Morelli & Brown said it expected to have filed 50 of these complaints with the EEOC by June 23.
Those first 50 complaints involved allegations by workers from Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia. Most of the workers in the group are black.
Until all the cases are filed, the law firm plans to submit 50 additional complaints in each subsequent week with the EEOC, which enforces federal laws barring discrimination in employment practices. The federal agency typically takes 180 days to investigate a complaint, determine its legitimacy and try to negotiate a solution.
The law firm also said it will ask permission from the commission to sue Nextel in federal court under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
As of June 20, Nextel said it could not comment because it had not received copies of the formal complaints, and the EEOC would not confirm having received them. Nextel also said it has a standing commitment to a workplace free of discrimination.
“The company is run like a plantation. The problem is so pervasive that this is the only thing that can be done,” charged plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey K. Brown.
“Our clients have been subjected to emotional and physical harassment. Some are in therapy on a daily basis. Some have had ulcers or miscarriages.”
Brown said the current and former Nextel workers are seeking a multimillion-dollar financial settlement from Nextel. They also want the enhanced specialized mobile radio carrier to spend equally large sums to implement sensitivity training and measures for ensuring diversity in hiring and promotions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
