Racism lawsuit hits DaimlerChrysler

DaimlerChrysler AG will go to trial in late March over employee claims that it failed to control racial harassment in the workplace and other offensive employee behavior that ultimately forced the automaker to eliminate a shift at its Chelsea proving grounds. Bekele Gedion, a native of Ethiopia and test engineer, and Jose Alva, a Hispanic technician, accused the company of racial harassment in a lawsuit filed in Washtenaw Circuit Court in February 2003, four years after they went to work at the proving grounds. Washtenaw Circuit Court Judge Timothy Connors dismissed some of the employee claims last year, but allowed others to go forward. The trial is set for March 28. The case is one of several lawsuits in recent years contending that Detroit's automakers haven't stamped out racial and sexual harassment on the shop floor. Gedion and Alva were hired in September 1999 and assigned to the proving grounds unit that conducts vehicle crash tests and analyzes seat belt and air bag performance. Soon after they started work, the two men claim they were subjected to a series of harassing events, including racial slurs. After the incidents were reported, the company did nothing meaningful during a two-year investigation, they claim. Chrysler denies any wrongdoing and says it maintains strict policies to prevent harassment in the workplace. [more]