PTSD Lawsuit Filed Against Mining Industry Supplier
The EEOC lawsuit alleges the copmany's two principal owners were aware of the ongoing harassment but took no actions to stop it.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit last week alleging that Buffalo, Wyo.-based Mine Rite Technologies, LLC violated federal law by subjecting an employee to a hostile work environment based on his disability and forced him out of his job because of the disability. The suit says the employee had served in the military and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
"While he was employed with Mine Rite as a welder, the employee's supervisor repeatedly referred to him as a 'psycho' and uttered similar epithets about him to his coworkers," EEOC reported, adding that the supervisor "also referred to Thursday as 'Psycho Thursday' because that was the day of the week that the employee attended therapy sessions at a Veterans Administration facility to treat his PTSD."
Mine Rite Technologies provides specialty attachments for large mining and construction equipment.
The suit alleges that Mine Rite's two principal owners were aware of the ongoing harassment but took no actions to stop it. EEOC filed EEOC v. Mine Rite Technologies, LLC, Civil Action No. 2:17-cv-00063-SWS, in U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming after trying to reach a settlement through its pre-litigation conciliation process. The suit seeks back pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and injunctive relief to prevent discriminatory practices in the future.
"The ADA protects our veterans who suffer from PTSD," said EEOC Phoenix District Office Regional Attorney Mary Jo O'Neill. "No employer should ever allow harassment of our veterans who served this country simply because they are getting the care they need and deserve."