The Inter-Pacific Railroad employs Francisco McGregor, a Hispanic man, as a supervisory
conductor on its commuter trains. Except for one white woman, all of the other supervisory
conductors employed by Inter-Pacific were black men. Francisco's Spanish nickname is
"Paco." The other supervisor conductors referred to Francisco as "Taco." They used racial
slurs, such as "beanbag," when talking about him to other employees. Francisco complained to
the senior trainmaster and threatened to file a claim with EEOC. What would you suggest the
trainmaster do to address Francisco's concerns and prevent him from filing a claim with the
EEOC?
Solution
Yes, the trainmaster must address Francisco's concerns. Franciso is being harassed at work by
intentioanlly disturbing him on the grounds of his race and cultural background.
The trainmaster must talk to all other supervisory conductors and should make them realize that
their behavior and attitude towards Francisco is not correct, and it could lead to penalty and other
punitive action against them. The trainmaster should also inform about this situation to the senior
management and the HR department at Inter-Pacific Railroad, so that such actions are prevented
from occuring in future.
The trainsmaster must educate and train the employees about the need to respect co-workers
from all races and cultural background. This will prevent them from acting in this manner in the
future.