MDHR settles with St. Cloud printing company that racially discriminated against Black employee
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Department of Human Rights settled on Thursday with Nahan, a St. Cloud printing company, after they found it violated the state's civil rights law when it discriminated against a Black employee.
As part of the settlement, Nahan must enforce policies that prevent racial discrimination and create a more welcoming workplace. The MDHR will monitor the company for two years to ensure they are adhering to the settlement agreement.
Between 2018 and 2019, MDHR found white employees regularly harassed a Black employee and his son, who also worked at the company. They made racist comments and one employee refused to shake hands with them because of their race.
The two employees reported the incidents, but Nahan ignored and minimized the comments, which violated their own policy requiring the company to investigate harassment reports.
"What's concerning here is not just that employees were using racial slurs when referring to their fellow Black colleagues and making derogatory comments about Black people, but that management knew this was occurring and did nothing to stop it," said Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Rebecca Lucero.
The Black employee and his son quit their jobs because of the harassment, and in 2021 the MDHR found Nahan to be in violation of the Minnesota Human Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination.
