U-Haul Sued for Race, Gender Discrimination by Male Ex-Employee

A former U-Haul employee has brought a lawsuit against the trucking company alleging racial discrimination, reports The Pennsylvania Record.

Anthony Briggs claims that U-Haul discriminated against him because he is African American. He filed his case in federal court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Briggs claims that he was demoted and transferred to a different location as an assistant manager, after he had been manager, the Record reports.

The company, however, claims that his position was no longer available. U-Haul also cited performance reasons, which Briggs claims are false. The reality, as Briggs asserts, was that his original position had been filled by a white employee.

Briggs’ pay was also allegedly reduced when his job changed, according to his complaint.

In his lawsuit, Briggs accuses U-Haul not only of racial discrimination but also of gender discrimination. His manager was allegedly a white female, and Briggs claims that even when he was a manager, he was compensated less than other managers who were not African-American.

It’s not entirely clear what Briggs’ gender discrimination claims are based upon. But according to the Record, Briggs’ white female supervisor allegedly told him he was being transferred because of some issue regarding the custody and support of his son.

As for Briggs’ racial discrimination claim, employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees on the basis of their race. In order to bring a successful claim, however, there needs to be something more than just speculation.

The misconception for many disgruntled workers is that they can bring claims of racial or gender discrimination simply because their boss is of a different race or gender.

The reality is that such claims aren’t that easy to bring.

A real and viable discrimination claim needs to have some solid evidence of discrimination. This can include oral or written statements, regular and pervasive behavior of a discriminatory manner, or an adverse employment action that specifically shows discrimination.

Simply replacing a black employee with a white employee likely isn’t sufficient to amount to a winning discrimination lawsuit, without more.

It’s easy to bring a discrimination claim, but it really isn’t as easy to win one.

Related Resources:

• Philadelphia Employment Lawyers (FindLaw)
• Former Partner Sues Greenberg Traurig Over Gender Discrimination (FindLaw’s Philadelphia Employment Law Blog)
• Ellen Pao: The Woman Who Shook Up the Big Boys Club (FindLaw’s Philadelphia Employment Law Blog)