The EEOC has announced that it has sued a West Virginia mining company for national origin discrimination.  The company allegedly knew that its supervisory and non-supervisory personnel were regularly subjecting an employee of Polish ancestry to “degrading and humiliating comments, taunts and slurs.”

Title VII, of course, protects employees from national origin discrimination and harassment.

“The harassment included calling Jagodzinski a ‘stupid Polack, a ‘dumb Polack, and other offensive names, displaying offensive graffiti about Jagodzinski on mine walls and elsewhere in the workplace, and taunting Jagodzinski with derogatory remarks about his national origin.”

The employee was fired when he complained.

An EEOC attorney said that “No employee should be subjected to degrading and humiliating harassment in order to earn a living.”