Three other plaintiffs joined a class-action lawsuit filed in August alleging that American Express would subject white employees to “racially discriminatory” policies that fostered a hostile work environment.
“Since the filing of this lawsuit, my company has been inundated with calls from former and current Amex employees across the country who read the allegations of the complaint and could not believe how accurately they described their own experiences with the company,” attorney David Pivtorak told FOX Business.
On August 23, Pivtorak filed a class action on behalf of former Amex employee Brian Netzel and possibly thousands of other employees in the same situation after what the complaint described as “an avalanche of bad things coming to white people in that company once George Floyd was killed. “
The lawsuit alleges that in the wake of Floyd’s death, Amex implemented “anti-racism” policies throughout its corporate structure that “gave preferential treatment to individuals for being black and unequivocally signaled to white employees that their race was an obstacle to get ahead in the business.”
AMERICAN EXPRESS TOW WITH LAW FOR DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WHITE EMPLOYEES
In an amended complaint, three new group representatives allege discrimination similar to what Netzel described.
Netzel told FOX Business when his complaint was filed that Amex’s racial policies flooded the workplace with “an enormous amount of hostility.” He claimed that white workers were unfairly punished or passed over for promotions, while some black workers were promoted only to meet racial quotas, and that some felt empowered to “meet people of the McCarthy era who disagreed with this general philosophy.” , exterminate. “
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In his original complaint, Netzel alleged that his female manager, who is black, would “aggressively harass and insult white employees” and that Amex was not only aware of her behavior but also provided financial incentives to executives to increase the number of white employees. Reduce.
Three new group representatives have joined a class action lawsuit alleging that American Express had racially discriminatory policies against white employees, promoting a hostile work environment. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo/Reuters Photos)
One of the new plaintiffs, who lives in a different city from the original plaintiff, claims to have been subjected to racial harassment and discrimination by that same manager. Another claims to have been harassed and denied a promotion on racial grounds by another manager. All three new prosecutors say they were forced to resign from high-paying positions at the company to escape the racially toxic environment.
EX-AMERICAN EXPRESS EMPLOYEE SPEAKS ABOUT ‘WOKE’ CORPORATE AMERICA: ‘SHAME ON YOU’
“It’s hard to put into words how racially toxic that work environment must have been, top to bottom, where you can just hear it in the voices of these people. I just hope more workers come forward to tackle these abhorrent practices.” fight because that is how we will finally bring the violators to justice,” said lawyer Pivortak.
Amex did not comment on the amended complaint, but denied the allegations of the original lawsuit, with a spokesperson at the time telling FOX Business: “The allegations about our company in the lawsuit are false and unfounded. We have a long-standing commitment to upholding our company values, including promoting a diverse and inclusive culture in which all colleagues can thrive.”
“Progress, hiring and compensation within our company are based solely on individual qualifications, business and leadership performance. Any assertion to the contrary is false and we do not provide any incentive for behavior that discriminates against or favors any group of employees,” the spokesperson added. .
Chris Rufo, senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute, discusses how American Express and other major companies enforce wake-up policies on employees on “Fox Business Tonight.”
Amex has faced previous allegations of discrimination. Nick Williams, a white man who served as a business development manager at Amex for eight years until he was suddenly fired in March 2021, turned down a six-figure settlement offer after he refused to sign paperwork banning him from speaking out against the credit card behemoth.
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In 2021, five current and former employees told FOX Business on condition of anonymity that the company engaged in “reverse discrimination” against white employees and immersed the workplace in the principles of critical race theory. Amex categorically denied the allegations at the time.