‘Muscular and Dark-Skinned’: White Frito-Lay Supervisor Calls Black Worker ‘Big Scary Black Guy,’ Then the Company Fires Him After He Complained About Racial Comments, Lawsuit Says
A Black man who claims he complained about being called “a big scary Black guy” by his white supervisor at Frito-Lay’s plant in Topeka and was fired soon after is suing the company for $300,000.
Michael Whitfield started working as a janitor for Frito-Lay in September 2023, cleaning the food plant’s equipment and facilities. According to his lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Kansas on May 5, the company never raised any issues about his job performance until he complained about racial harassment to his union and management.
Whitfield says his troubles began when a white supervisor referred to him as a “big black man who has been to prison” and as a “big scary black guy,” according to the complaint.
When he complained about the comments to a Black supervisor, he was allegedly told, “You know people like us don’t want to be the scary Black man at work.”
Whitfield is “a big man, well over six feet tall,” muscular and dark-skinned, he says in his lawsuit. But there is nothing about him that is “scary,” he contends.
After he reported the negative racial comments to his union representatives and other Frito-Lay supervisors, he was placed on suspension, pending an investigation, on Nov. 17, 2023. He was fired three days later “under the false pretext of job performance,” the lawsuit says, but he claims his termination was actually in retaliation for complaining about the racially charged comments and the hostile workplace they created.
Whitfield alleges the company discriminated and retaliated against him on the basis of race in violation of federal civil rights law and the Kansas Act Against Discrimination. He seeks a jury trial to determine damages to compensate him for monetary losses, emotional pain, suffering, mental anguish and legal costs. He asks the court to award relief in the form of a job promotion with back pay or compensation for lost wages, along with punitive damages of $300,000.
Frito-Lay has 21 days, or until May 26, to respond to Whitfield’s discrimination complaint.
His lawsuit comes four years after the snack food giant settled a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by three Black men who worked at the same plant and complained of a hostile workplace that included allegations of racial slurs aimed at Black employees and references to lynching and cotton picking.
Melvin Smith, Daniel Askew and Antonio Pead said that racist and threatening comments and actions were common occurrences at the plant. Black employees were allegedly called “smelly gorillas” and “ni—ers” by white employees and racist words and symbols were repeatedly drawn on walls, including a swastika with the words “hail Trump” in a bathroom, and a noose hung in the plant.
The plaintiffs in that case alleged that the white employees making the comments were not disciplined or terminated. They also claimed Black employees were not given the same employment opportunities as white employees, including some white employees who had made racist and harassing comments, who received promotions despite having less tenure and seniority than Black employees
The lawsuit said Black employees who complained to management were retaliated against, including being falsely accused of work violations, suspended, threatened by employees, and unable to receive promotions.
Frito-Lay admitted in its answer that a white warehouse lead sent a message via Facebook to Pead including the word “ni–er,” and that a noose was found in the Topeka plant’s warehouse, but denied all of allegations of discrimination and retaliation. The company argued that any adverse employment actions it took against the plaintiffs were for legitimate business reasons, including violation of company rules and policies.
After a 10-hour mediation session, Frito-Lay settled with Askew and Pead in January 2021, and their claims were dismissed from the lawsuit a month later. Smith’s case proceeded until May, 2021, when he and Frito-Lay jointly filed to dismiss the case. The plaintiffs’ attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Atlanta Black Star about the outcome of that lawsuit, including any settlement terms.
Frito-Lay’s Topeka plant has spawned two other discrimination lawsuits over the past year.
Last October, former Topeka Frito-Lay employee Jeffery R. Scott filed an age-based discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the company. Mediation for that lawsuit is scheduled for May 21, according to court records, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
In April of 2024, former Frito-Lay employee Tiffany Norris filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the Topeka plant. Her case awaits a judge’s decision on a motion for summary judgment. If it proceeds to trial, that is scheduled to begin on July 7.