Colorado Hampton Inn discrimination case progresses

5 Oct, 2011 By: Elliott Mest

A Hampton Inn hotel in Craig, Colo., has become the subject of a discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming the hotel fired three workers on the grounds that they were white. The lawsuit was filed last week in Denver and alleges the firing came about because “Hispanics worked harder.”

The lawsuit targets the hotel’s owners, Century Shree Corporation and Century Rama, as well as the owners of those companies: Falgun Patel, Mukund Partel and Liyush of Patel. Attorney Tim Kignston stated Monday that he could not comment, as he had yet to discuss the case with his clients.

Wendy Buckley, Ashlee Flannery and Dewetta McKnight of the hotel’s housekeeping and laundry departments were hired in early 2009 and fired later that year. According to the complaint, they were replaced by Latino employees, with Latino employees later comprising the entirety of the housekeeping staff by the end of the year.

According to the Denver Post, the lawsuit claims that one of the fired employees was told her termination was due to the hotel owners’ preference for non-American and non-Caucasian workers, and that their impression was that such workers are lazy.

Buckley, Flannery and McKnight are seeing back pay and reinstatement of their jobs.

EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill stated that more than just these three employees may have faced discrimination.

“I’ve been doing this work for 30-some years and I’ve never filed a case like this,” EEOC Regional Attorney Mary Jo O’Neill told the Denver Post. The EEOC has filed six employment suits in Colorado this year.

Additionally, the EEOC is accusing Century Shree Corporation and Century Rama of violating federal record-keeping laws after failing to properly archive and preserve employment documents for at least one year.

The Associated Press reported Tuesday the owners are disputing the allegations made by the former employees and said in a statement that "the truth will come out" during legal proceedings."