BELLEVILLE – A former employee of America's Auto Auction in Centreville claims he was subject to a campaign of racial discrimination from his fellow employees, which allegedly prompted him to quit his job.
Plaintiff Donovan Hickman filed the lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against America's Auto Auction, St. Louis, Inc., citing discrimination in violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act.
According to the lawsuit, Hickman states that he is an African American male and was hired to work for America's Auto Auction at their Centreville location in March 2022. He claims that soon after he was hired, he was subjected to constant discrimination and harassment by his co-workers on the basis of his race.
According to Hickman, the harassment included racially charged comments, jokes, pranks and actions. Hickman states that his supervisor was sometimes present to witness the harassment but never disciplined the offending employees. He alleges his supervisor instead condoned the behavior.
Hickman states that he reported the alleged hostile work environment to human resources on July 14, 2022, but no action resulted. Then on July 21, a coworker allegedly confronted him and attempted to start a fight.
The harassment allegedly continued until Aug. 12, 2022, when Hickman chose to stop returning to work.
Hickman states that due to the defendant's conduct and failure to prevent the discrimination, he has experienced financial distress, lost wages and benefits, mental anguish, depression and emotional distress.
The plaintiff is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus court costs, attorneys fees and any other relief the court deems proper. He is represented in this case by attorney Ryan J. Mahoney of Mahoney Law Firm, LLC in Glen Carbon.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 23LA0962