Former BAE Norfolk shipyard worker sues, says complaints about racially hostile co-worker were

Former BAE Norfolk shipyard worker sues, says complaints about racially hostile co-worker were ignored


A former pipefitter for BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair is suing the company, claiming that her repeated complaints about another employee’s racially offensive language were ignored by supervisors.

Doretha Steeples filed her lawsuit Friday in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. She is not asking for a specific amount in damages.

Steeples, who is Black, began working as a skilled pipefitter at BAE’s Norfolk shipyard in May 2018, according to the complaint. She was a contract worker and employed through a staffing agency.

On her first day at the shipyard, a white female employee who worked as a “helper” told Steeples she couldn’t use a restroom there because she wasn’t a permanent employee, the lawsuit says. Steeples had worked there in the past and knew that wasn’t true.

Read more: https://www.pilotonline.com/business/shipyards/vp-nw-bae-lawsuit-20210607-vqbfhmtmebadzdcfb2zdc7lvmu-story.html