A Pennsylvania federal judge last week ruled beer brand Samuel Adams Pennsylvania Brewery Company LLC must face a temp worker’s racial discrimination lawsuit, finding there is potential for the company to share liability with temp provider HTSS Inc.
Alexis Lara first filed the lawsuit [1] in January alleging that he and other workers at Samuel Adams faced “race-based” comments and other discriminatory actions, in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act.
Lara, who began working at Sam Adams in March 2018 as a warehouse packager, claimed he was retaliated against and unlawfully terminated on Dec. 13, 2018, two weeks after complaining of the discrimination and harassment and filing a claim with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. on Sept. 1 ordered the dismissal of Lara’s hostile work environment claims against all defendants as well as Lara’s race-based discrimination and retaliation claims against the seven individual defendants.
However, he retained Lara’s race-based discrimination and retaliation claims against Sam Adams and HTSS.
“From Lara’s allegations, the court can draw an inference of — or at a minimum, reasonably expect that discovery will lead to evidence supporting — a causal connection between his multiple reports of perceived unlawful discrimination at Sam Adams and his ultimate termination,” The Pennsylvania Record reported Leeson as stating.
The Pennsylvania Record discusses the ruling in depth here [2].