While there’s a time and place for humor, dealing with genuinely racist and xenophobic jokes can be very uncomfortable and disturbing. That said, one Georgia chemical plant employee definitely did not vibe with his new manager’s humor when he was called an awful racial slur used against brown people of Middle Eastern or North African descent. The worst part is that this manager wanted others to get in on his “fun” and laugh with him. “He thought he was being funny and everyone around was laughing,” the worker recalled, shocked by what happened.
Initially, the employee was too nervous and stunned in the moment from what the manager had said, so he laughed it off with the others. “Now that I’m away from the situation, I’m feeling cut down to size,” the man explains on r/legaladvice. The employee describes how he’s been working at the Georgia chemical plant for over 4 years, while the new supervisor, who started last October, is already running his mouth with the most outrageous remarks.
The most obvious solution to this problem: “Report the incident to HR,” as one commenter put it. Another person recommends that the worker gather witnesses to have their story on hand for when he makes the report to upper management. Fortunately, the employee did exactly that and rounded up anyone he could who would support him, come the report to HR.
“One of the guys is a burly ex-Army dude from Tennessee. Said he’s been to Afghanistan and was a character witness for interpreters who successfully gained US citizenship and what the manager said was xenophobic and heinous,” the worker remarked. Another older man who’s been at the plant for ages said he’d go to management to make the report himself if the worker didn’t want to.
Another commenter in the Reddit post, also claiming to be working for a Georgia chemical plant, confidently said that their company would fire the manager immediately. As to any fears of the harassed employee being the one fired, many users assure that that would only mean that he’d get paid handsomely in a lawsuit, as he already has enough witnesses to make a case. The worker says he’s already written to HR about supervisor’s racial slur, so now it’s up to upper management to take action.
