3 Fired From Macomb County Morgue Following Complaint

MACOMB COUNTY, MI — Three female employees at the Macomb County morgue have been fired after accusations of sexism and racist, according to reports.

A fourth employee — a manager — is on paid-leave, according to The Macomb Daily, after the four employees reportedly displayed pornographic photos in the office and on their computers.

The Macomb Daily reported that the four employees, a group comprised of a two morgue technicians, an investigator and the manager, were fired on Thursday following a July 18 complaint issued by another employee.

Patch has reached out to Macomb County officials for additional information.

The dispute is now in the hands of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, The Detroit Free Press reported. The complainant was told the Free Press that she wanted to report the conduct sooner but feared retalitation from co-workers.

The Free Press did not identify the individual, but described her as a death investigator who worked at the morgue as well as a person of color.

The tipping point was when a cake, decorated with a Black penis on it, was seen in the county medical examiner's conference room the same week that George Floyd died, the Free Press reported. The death of Floyd, a Black man who died while in the custody of Minneapolis police and with an officer's knee on his neck, has sparked protests against police brutality around the nation.

"I was livid — furious actually," the woman told the Free Press. "All these cities are on fire for the Black Lives Matter movement, and here's my staff eating a black penis cake as a joke? That really pushed me over the edge."

Other allegations included employees mocking Blacks asking about the death of their loved ones, bullying and the displaying of pornography around the workplace.