St. Leo University Accused of Racial Discrimination in Lawsuit Filed by Group of Food Service Workers

St. Leo University has been sued by a group of food service workers accusing the university of retaliating against them for complaining about racial discrimination. According to Tampa Bay Online, black and white workers say they were subject to racial harassment, including an incident in which a former employee was assaulted for openly celebrating the election of President Barack Obama.

The lawsuit also says black employees and whites who associated with blacks or had biracial children were given less desirable, lower-paying jobs than their white counterparts.

The lawsuit also names Sodexo Inc., the contractor that employed the workers at the university. Sodexo was sued earlier this year by the same workers. The employees settled with the company in July but now are seeking to reopen that case. Both cases were filed in U.S. District Court in Tampa.

According to the new lawsuit, Saint Leo was aware of the previous one but didn't investigate the allegations of racial harassment. In August, Sodexo and Saint Leo told the workers they would lose their jobs Oct. 1.

Food service workers were made to reapply for their jobs, which was a "well-designed scare tactic" to stop other employees from complaining about working conditions, the lawsuit states. The majority of the workers involved in the first lawsuit against Sodexo were not rehired. Source

Even if the university prevails in the lawsuit, it will create some doubt in the minds of many, particularly students applying to the university, for both traditional students attending on-campus and those attending online.