Former Dallas Cowboys running back Eric Mitchel started the lawsuit after finding his name and the names of other black employees on the hit list. Mitchel said he helped organize the suit despite threats that "men in white hooded robes" would visit his house and warnings from a manager that he should quit.

"It was, in layman's terms, a modern-day lynching," said Mitchel. "White employees would pass around KKK membership cards, they would call black people 'boy' and 'coon,' and they had been doing it so long that no one challenged them. Those who did were threatened they'd be killed."

Francisco Ochoa, a Hispanic employee, alleged that when he met with a supervisor to discuss his concerns he was shocked to see himself depicted in a racially offensive cartoon displayed on the manager's desk. According to the suit, Mr. Ochoa was so traumatized by the incident that he was hospitalized for two weeks as a direct result.

Allegations from other employees included threats that employees should be sent "back to Africa" and frequent use of racial epithets, including the N-word. Employees alleged that the harassment was "commonplace" and often occurred "in plain sight."

The EEOC investigated the allegations and concluded that the perpetrators of the alleged incidents had received virtually no discipline. For example, it found that one employee who was convicted of a hate crime after drawing swastikas in the workplace was merely transferred but not fired.

"The harassment that was involved was egregious, but we see cases like this all the time," said EEOC attorney Suzanne Anderson. "The thing that stood out in this case was the fact that management took no action."

Allied Aviation vehemently denied any wrongdoing. "We disagree with the whole characterization of the case," said company owner Robert Rose. "It is grossly unfair." He maintains that when senior management was made aware of the alleged harassment it "took steps to ensure it would be properly investigated." Despite the denials of wrongdoing, the company ultimately agreed to settle the suit so that "all parties could move forward and put the matter to rest."

The $1.9 million will be divided among a group of fifteen African-American and Hispanic employees, six of whom still work for the company. The company must also provide diversity training to all employees and post a notice in each of its facilities.

"It is appalling that racial harassment remains a persistent problem at some job sites across the country in the 21st century, more than 40 years after passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act," said EEOC Chair Naomi Earp. "Employers must be more vigilant and make clear that race discrimination, whether verbal or behavioral, has no place in the contemporary workplace."

Postscript: To help reverse the growth in race harassment claims, the EEOC has launched an initiative called E-RACE (Eradicating Racism And Colorism from Employment), a national outreach, education and enforcement campaign. To read more, click here.

Article by Mark Toth, Chief Legal Officer of Manpower's North American operations, and courtesy of Manpower Employment Blawg. Mark also serve as Chief Compliance Officer and Vice President of Franchise Relations and serve on our Global Leadership Team, North American Lead Team, Executive Diversity Steering Committee and Sarbanes-Oxley Steering Committee.