A federal district court in Winston-Salem, N.C., has awarded more than $243,000 to two African-American employees of a trucking company who were subjected to racial harassment that included presentation of a noose, said the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The Concord, N.C.-based company plans to appeal the ruling, says its attorney.

The EEOC said in a statement Friday that from May 2007 through at least June 2008, Contonius Gill was repeatedly subjected to unwelcome derogatory racial comments and slurs by A.C. Widenhouse Inc.'s dispatcher, several mechanics and other truck drivers, all of whom are white. He testified that on one occasion he was approached by a co-worker with a noose and told, “This is for you. Do you want to hang from the family tree?” according to the EEOC.

The EEOC said Robert Floyd Jr., who was the only African-American at the company when he was hired in 2005, also was told by the company's general manager, “Don't find a noose with your name on it,” and that the general manager talked about having some of his friends visit Mr. Floyd in the middle of the night, among other examples of racial harassment.

The EEOC filed suit against A.C. Widenhouse in June 2011.

The EEOC said on Jan. 28 a jury returned a unanimous verdict finding that Messrs. Gill and Floyd had been harassed because of their race, and that Mr. Gill had been fired because of his race and in retaliation for complaining about racial harassment.

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In a judgment and injunction entered by the court on Feb. 22, the court ruled the EEOC should recover $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of Mr. Floyd, and that Mr. Gill should recover $193,509 in compensatory and punitive damages, back pay and pre-judgment interest, said the EEOC.

The court also enjoined the trucking company from discriminating against any person on the basis of race, or in retaliation for opposing practices unlawful under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A three-year injunction also requires A.C. Widenhouse to implement a written anti-discrimination policy, among other actions.

Lynette A. Barnes, regional attorney for the EEOC's Charlotte, N.C., district office, said in a statement, “We are glad that the court saw fit to enter an injunction in this case. Among other things, the injunction mandates training for Widenhouse employees and owners involved in the company's operations. Education is the first step toward preventing racial harassment.”

A.C. Widenhouse attorney Kirk J. Angel, of the Concord, N.C.-based Angel Law Firm P.L.L.C., said in a statement, “A.C. Widenhouse is disappointed by the outcome of this trial. The jury awarded $45,000 more than the amount allowed under federal law. The company filed a motion seeking reduction of the award pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1981a., which was granted, and the jury verdict was lowered by the Court.

“A.C. Widenhouse will file an appeal to the (4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals) in the near future. My client strongly believes that certain rulings by the court negatively impacted its ability to present its defense, and that certain claims presented to the jury were not supported by law.”