EAST ST. LOUIS – Former Granite City Steel employee Phyllis Mangum claims the company mistreated and fired her for racial reasons.
She sued the company and its parent US Steel in U.S. district court on June 8.
Her lawyer Brandy Barth of St. Louis wrote that Mangum was employed as a manager and is an African-American female.
“During her employment plaintiff reported multiple incidents of sexually hostile comments, sexual content and inappropriate and abusive language directed towards her by white male employees,” Barth wrote.
“Nothing was done to correct the behavior.”
She wrote that the only other African-American manager was placed on an improvement plan.
“Plaintiff refused to agree with the allegations and instead offered to act as a witness for the other African-American employee,” Barth wrote.
“In retaliation, plaintiff was faced with further hostility and abusive behavior based upon her race and gender.”
She wrote that the abuse forced Mangum to take medical leave.
She wrote that Mangum was warned at a meeting that they hadn’t found an offense to accuse her of but that she would be fired for any safety related offense.
She wrote that Mangum stated she wanted to make a formal complaint and a human resource representative stated they would schedule a meeting.
“Later that same day, October 10, 2019, plaintiff was fired,” she wrote.
Mangum seeks back pay, front pay, benefits, damages for anguish and humiliation, fees, costs, and punitive damages.
Barth wrote that Granite City Steel’s wanton and willful conduct showed reckless indifference to Mangum’s rights and justified punitive damages.
Magistrate Judge Mark Beatty will preside, unless either side declines consent to magistrate jurisdiction.
In that case, a district judge would preside.
Chief Judge Nancy Rosenstengel switched to automatic assignment of magistrates last year, due to two vacancies among four district judge positions.
Circuit judges Stephen McGlynn of St. Clair County and David Dugan of Madison County await action in the U.S. Senate on their nominations to fill the vacancies.