Ex-Employee Of West Side Little Caesars Sues Over N-Word Claim

CHICAGO, IL — Little Caesars is being sued for $1 million by an ex-employee who says he routinely faced discrimination while working for the company in the Little Village location from 2015 to 2017. Dionte Lawrence claims his colleagues often called him the N-word, physically attacked him and allegedly shook metal chains at him, calling him a "slave." He's suing for $1,000,000 and claims he has suffered depression, anxiety, emotional distress and loss of income.

According to court documents, Lawrence claims that during his employment at Little Caesars at 2601 W. Cermak Road, he was racially harassed on an escalating basis, even after repeatedly complaining to human resources. Several examples are highlighted in the lawsuit:

Soon after he started his job, Lawrence says he asked a co-manager why all the black employees were placed in the back of the store while all the Hispanic employees were placed in the front of the store to interact with customers. He says he never got an answer and was later told to "stop asking the question."

Lawrence says he then contacted human resources who told him, "We don't mean to be racist, but this is a predominately Hispanic neighborhood."

Shortly after that, Lawrence claims he was reassigned to the front of the store and immediately his co-workers started harassing him by calling him a "negro" and a "slave." On one occasion, Lawrence says his co-workers called him a "slave" and then one of them "picked up and shook metal chain links" and asked him if they "looked familiar," according to the court documents.

He claims the racial harassment escalated and says his co-workers said things to him like "Ni**er lives matter," "Don't you miss Africa," and "I hate the texture of your hair – can I touch it?"

In another incident, Lawrence claims his co-workers again called him a the N-word, pulled his hat off, grabbed his hair and threatened to shoot him. Then in December 2016, he claims he was cleaning when a co-worker physically assaulted him. He says another co-worker joined in beating him and kicking him in the head, which eventually broke his nose.
Lawrence claims he was suspended and then terminated due to the incident.

Little Caesars, a Detroit-based company, is the third largest pizza chain in the company. It's owned by the Illitch family and Illitch Holdings, also the parent company of the Detroit Tigers and the Detroit Red Wings.

Article by Jessica Strachan; Amber Fisher contributed.

Top image via Shutterstock