After Metoyer removed the doll for a second time, his supervisor asked: "Whatever happened to my Obama?"
According to a report by The Oregonian, the doll incident made Metoyer "fearful of his safety," and he reportedly emailed a photo of the doll to the human resources department of the company. HR gave him a bewildering reply, telling him a forensics expert would be hired to analyze the phone he used to take the picture. The company confirms that this was indeed their response.
Metoyer claims that after his actions, his supervisor began to act in a discriminatory manner towards him. The supervisor kept addressing him as "boy" and commenting that he dressed like a "drug dealer" or a "gangbanger." According to Metoyer, the company never had any dress code before the doll incident.
When Metoyer tried to change offices, the company refused. In the end, Metoyer was fired — according to the company, because of insubordination and performance problems.
In response, Metoyer filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation for being a whistleblower, and is seeking unspecified economic, non-economic and punitive damages along with a court order requiring the company to end its alleged discriminatory practices, the Oregonian reports.
The company wants to put the case on hold until the former trucker can be compelled to resolve the complaint through arbitration. The company says Metoyer signed an arbitration agreement when hired, but both the driver and his lawyer deny it.
The company denies any discrimination allegations.
