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Foundry ordered to pay $200,000, adopt new policies in harassment case

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A San Antonio foundry company has been ordered by a federal judge to implement extensive measures to prevent racial harassment in a ruling that comes after a jury award of $200,000 in punitive damages to three former workers in a discrimination case, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday.

Last month, a jury found AA Foundries Inc. had subjected three former African-American employees to a racially hostile work environment, and that plant superintendent Ronnie Hunt had acted with “malice or reckless indifference” to the rights of workers to not be subjected to insults and intimidation. The jury award of $200,000 was split between the three former workers.

The EEOC said Mr. Hunt had used racially derogatory and obscene terms; posted racially tinged written material in the break room; slandered the workers routinely; and accused African-Americans of “always stealing and wanting welfare.”

After several employees filed racial harassment charges with the EEOC, a noose was displayed in the workplace, the EEOC said.

Mr. Hunt denied on the witness stand that racial harassment occurred at AA Foundries and maintained the company had done nothing wrong, according to the EEOC.

In his Oct. 9 ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Harry Lee Hudspeth of the Western District of Texas in Austin ordered the company to develop a policy and procedures for handling reports of racial harassment; develop an effective investigation process for all racial harassment complaints; and distribute a written policy and provide equal employment opportunity training to all employees, including managers, the EEOC said.

Judith G. Taylor, supervisory trial attorney for the EEOC's San Antonio field office, said in a statement, “A strong policy, meaningful training and a swift response to complaints are a company's most effective tools for addressing an existing hostile work environment or to prevent one from arising. The judge's order will go a long way toward protecting AA Foundries' employees from harassment.”

A company spokesman could not be reached for comment.

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