Dive Brief:
- A former HR manager for Clorox agreed to end her lawsuit alleging that the company terminated her in retaliation for raising complaints about discriminatory practices at an Atlanta facility, according to a July 10 court filing.
- Per the complaint in Martin v. Clorox Manufacturing Co., the plaintiff said she received complaints from Black workers of racial favoritism towards White workers in areas such as promotion, hiring and termination decisions, as well as shift scheduling. She alleged management refused to investigate the complaints and later fired her after she complained that Clorox’s employee relations team would not investigate.
- Clorox denied the claims in a November 2024 filing. An April filing indicated that the parties has settled. As part of their joint stipulation of dismissal with prejudice, both parties agreed to bear their own costs, expenses and attorneys’ fees.
Dive Insight:
In her complaint, the plaintiff alleged she had engaged in protected activity by opposing unlawful acts or practices under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. She also claimed that her firing constituted unlawful retaliation for engaging in protected activity.
Federal equal employment opportunity statutes, such as Title VII, prohibit retaliation against employees who oppose prohibited discrimination, including by complaining about alleged discrimination or threatening to file such a complaint, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. Retaliation also is prohibited when an employee participates in a discrimination proceeding, such as filing an employment discrimination charge.
HR professionals have filed similar lawsuits in the past. In one case, a construction company agreed in 2024 to pay $50,000 to settle allegations that it took action against an HR manager who sought to investigate an employee’s sexual harassment complaints against a higher-up.
Unhealthy work environments, including those that permit discrimination to go unchecked, constitute a top cause of lawsuits by employees, an attorney told attendees at SHRM’s 2025 annual conference. The speaker said HR should ensure a clear system of reporting and addressing potentially discriminatory behaviors is in place to help reduce potential legal liability.