A black worker awarded 25 million in damages after jury decides his workplace didn't do enough to stop racial slurs. Is this award fair?

by Assassin~ Badass Buzz Guru Posted 2012/06/13 19:02:42

Related Topics: Police, Car, Money, Trial, Lawyers, Newspaper, 2012, Yahoo, New, 25, Workers

60 votes
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	Fair Verdict.	10 votes	17%
	Way too much.	50 votes	83%

A black steelworker has been awarded $25 million in damages after a
federal jury ruled his former company didn't do enough to stop years of
racial slurs and taunting by his co-workers.

According to the Buffalo News, Elijah Turley testified during the
trial that colleagues at the Buffalo-area plant called him "boy" and
left a stuffed monkey with a noose around its neck on his car's driver's
side mirror. He also recalled seeing "KKK" and "King Kong" scrawled on
the factory's walls.

"It's absolutely shocking that a case like this is in court in 2012,"
Ryan J. Mills, Turley's lawyer, said in closing arguments. "It should
be viewed as atrocious and intolerable in a civilized society."

Lawyers for ArcelorMittal countered that company officials suspended Turley's co-workers and took other steps to stop the harassment. The newspaper reported they also suggested that a lot of what Turley endured was "trash-talking" that's common on factory floors.

money

Was this amount of damages a fair verdict?

+10

Add a comment above

sockpuppet 2012/06/13 19:14:43

Way too much.

+7
Damage... caused by racial slur and taunting? They don't make steelworkers like they used to!

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More polls by Assassin~ Badass Buzz Guru

Mike McCullough 2012/08/14 03:29:22

Way too much.

There is no reason to ask for or receive monetary damages for this behavior. If it was allowed to continue for as long as was claimed , it would seem that it was accepted for some portion of that time making it appear to me that the individual claiming injury was an instigator of the continued behavior and likely used discriminatory or inflammatory language himself against his alleged bullies. If he's tough enough to be a steel worker he's tough enough to shrug off verbal attacks.

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PatrickDraper 2012/06/17 04:43:24

Fair Verdict.

Yes. No one should have to put up with that in the workplace.

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Bob DiN 2012/06/15 17:35:28

Way too much.

A PC verdict.

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Adam 2012/06/15 14:55:23

Way too much.

+1
What happened was atrocious, but there is no way the guy deserved 25 million dollars for it.

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Kingarthurup 2012/06/14 15:49:27

Way too much.

+2
Anyone ever been to a steel mill?.... as colorful language and pranks as in college or the navy... but libtard minorities elect libtard politicians, who appoint libtard judiciary.

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Sister Jean 2012/06/14 15:13:04

Fair Verdict.

if that what he got

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Wag 2012/06/14 14:01:31

Fair Verdict.

+2
I'll bet they will be more attenitive next time......

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Michaelene 2012/06/14 13:28:47

Way too much.

+1
Wow, that's rediculous.
Where's my lawyer? :P

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Mr Bob 2012/06/14 07:41:55

Way too much.

+1
What a whiny pussy.

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blissful 2012/06/14 06:41:47

Fair Verdict.

+3
There should no toleration of any kind in this case. Not only was this an attack on his Charactor & Race, but concerning the monkey a threat to his Life!! Yes I do believe that he so deserved the Money!...

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Iamfree 2012/06/14 05:40:40

Way too much.

+2
An award this high will result in lost jobs. The company will have to make up the lost money somewhere. I hope the steelworker is happy. It sounds to me like the company did what it could to stop the harrassment. What did he want them to do?

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wtw 2012/06/14 03:18:25

Way too much.

+3
Ridiculous!!

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Sophie 2012/06/14 02:04:07

Way too much.

+3
I understand and would agree that the abusive behavior has to be stopped but $25Mil is absolutely ridiculous.

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santa6642 2012/06/14 01:45:33

Way too much.

+3
What steel plant in buffalo.Has not been any around for years,What are they smoken

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Chanch 2012/06/14 00:52:55

Way too much.

+2
Was the judge black??

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ed 2012/06/14 00:19:42 (edited)

Way too much.

+3
I would like to know how the jury came up with that sum.I also don't think this is a civilized society.I wonder if it had been a white or hispanic person would they have gotten that much?

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Cal 2012/06/14 00:06:00

Way too much.

+2
25 million seems a bit out of touch....

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Lady Whitewolf 2012/06/13 22:47:36

Way too much.

+2
WAAAY too much

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apachehellfire65 2012/06/13 22:41:59

Way too much.

+3
i would have to hear what they said in the context in which they said it.

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beach bum 2012/06/13 22:34:10

Way too much.

+2
too much

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Prime Time Lime 2012/06/13 22:22:20

Fair Verdict.

+3
Maybe this verdict will be a wake up notice that racial slurs in the workplace or any other place is not acceptable these days.From what I see in the story this could have been go on in his workplace for years,and had fallen on deaf ears of his employer.

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Iamfree to Prime T... 2012/06/14 05:42:22

I read the same story. "...company officials suspended Turley's co-workers and took other steps to stop the harassment." What should they have done?

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Prime T... to Iamfree 2012/06/14 14:09:25

I do not know what else they could have done,since they suspended other employees.

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ladyjane 2012/06/13 22:19:25

Way too much.

+1
Laws have been in place for many years about harassment in work places. Why didn't he speak up sooner? This whole thing stinks. He could have ended the problem by speaking up and putting an end to it. The people that were causing the problem would have "or" should have been fired. That in it self would have kept it from happening after that.

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Assassi... to ladyjane 2012/06/14 00:41:26

+2
Did you read it? Apparently not. He did take it up with his supervisors and their supervisors. He made repeated complaints. They did NOT fire the people in question.

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ladyjane to Assassi... 2012/06/14 03:43:57 (edited)

+1
I didn't see it in the post above - sorry about that. He could have taken it elsewhere but it in he end would have cost him his job... They would have figured out a way to get rid of him if he called in help from the outside. I guess he did the right thing - except for the fact that they awarded him way too much money. Maybe it's a lesson for other companies?

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Iamfree to Assassi... 2012/06/14 05:43:03

I did read the story. "...company officials suspended Turley's co-workers and took other steps to stop the harassment." What do you think they should have done?

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Assassi... to Iamfree 2012/06/14 13:37:17

+1
Fired them. Absolutely fired them especially when they continued after a suspension.

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loony t 2012/06/13 22:10:53

Way too much.

+3
Give me a break 25freaking million

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gocar 2012/06/13 22:04:06

Fair Verdict.

+4
Like most awards by a jury this one will be scaled back but the premise is correct. The employer had an obligation to provide a non-thratening work place and if warned and did nothing they are liable.

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Iamfree to gocar 2012/06/14 05:43:47

Read the story. "...company officials suspended Turley's co-workers and took other steps to stop the harassment." What should they have done?

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Romanknite 2012/06/13 21:12:51

Way too much.

+2
It's way to much but I'm glad he won it. Will America ever denounce racism, I don't think so.When you think about it, black people have been going through this kind of racial discrimination since we were forced to come over here, 400+ yrs of it. Will we really ever be set free from this kind of rhetoric?

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DeborahLakeHelen 2012/06/13 20:50:47

Way too much.

+3
If he wasn't tough enough to take the coarse talk, he shouldn't have been in that line of work. I'm sure there are others there who is the same color he is, who made derogatory references to him, and he to them, about others of a color different than theirs. Sounds like the Race Cards working overtime.

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ed to Deborah... 2012/06/14 00:16:20

+1
I agree looks that way to me to.

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Deborah... to ed 2012/06/14 00:37:34

+1
It must be then!

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Hawkeye 2012/06/13 20:48:24

Way too much.

+4
I don't know what to say here.. I find the accusations,, if true,, disturbing but I just have to say,, 25 million Dollars for being called names seems a bit excessive..

I can't help but believe that the award will be reduced dramatically under appeal..

On the OTHER hand.. I once sat in on a trial where a 13 year old was killed and the family sued a McDonald's across the street and WON millions because THEY claimed that the establishment LURED their son onto the Highway..

And John Edwards made millions on that Miscarriage case because HE pretended to be possessed by the spirit of the dead child calling out for Justice..

There's NO accounting for what's in the minds,, or the hearts,, of these juries..

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Deborah... to Hawkeye 2012/06/13 20:55:20

+2
Do you remember that fat woman who sat on a chair, I think it was Jack-In-The-Box over in Daytona, and sued them when the chair broke, and she cut her ass? That was a frivolous lawsuit, as is this one!
BTW, How is my Sweet Hawk today?

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BoJay to Deborah... 2012/06/13 21:00:06

+2

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Deborah... to BoJay 2012/06/13 23:10:58

+1

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Hawkeye to Deborah... 2012/06/13 21:15:17

+1
MUCH better now that I've talked to you..

EVERY time I see you it reminds of that song;;

"You light up my life"...

How's MY dear friend?? ( An irrelevant quesion if ever there was one.. Angels are ALWAYS doing fine )..

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