EEOC accuses Harford County auto dealership of racial harassment

A chain of Maryland auto dealerships failed to take action after a manager at a Harford County location used racial slurs toward Black salesmen, according to a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The lawsuit filed Friday alleges that a finance manager at Ourisman Toyota 40 twice referred to an employee as “boy” in February 2023 before addressing him and another Black salesman as the N-word and “boys.” Another manager had been alerted to the conduct after each instance, though the employer did not impose any serious consequences, according to the complaint.

The word “boy” has historically been used as a racial epithet towards Black men to imply subservience.

Still required to work near the manager and take financing paperwork for approval, the salesmen found that working conditions were “intolerable” and quit, according to the commission.

A representative for Ourisman, which operates dozens of car dealerships in the mid-Atlantic, said the company would not comment on the matter due to the pending litigation. The firm told the EEOC last year “that they were unwilling to engage in conciliation” regarding the matter, according to the complaint.

“The use of racial slurs at work must be treated as serious misconduct, requiring the employer to immediately take effective measures to correct and prevent continued harassment,” Debra Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office, said in a statement. “When the employer fails to act, the EEOC will.”

The EEOC alleges that the dealership violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland seeks back pay and other damages stemming from the alleged harassment and the company’s “callous indifference” to the salesmen’s rights.