TIOGA, N.D. (AP) - A Texas-based oil and gas company will pay $50,000 to settle a racial harassment lawsuit involving a black employee in North Dakota.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced the settlement Wednesday with Murex Petroleum Corp.
According to the lawsuit , Derrick Jenkins worked for Murex from April to September 2014 at its Tioga facility. The EEOC says Jenkins’ co-workers directed racial slurs at him and made racially derogatory comments. It says Jenkins’ supervisor witnessed the harassment, but did nothing about it.
The lawsuit says another African-American employee complained to a high-level executive at the company about the harassment, but no action was taken.
The settlement requires Murex to revise its harassment policy to outline procedures for reporting complaints.
A spokeswoman for Murex Petroleum, based in Houston, was unavailable for comment.
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