Not just two men
It wasn't just Boyd and Brooks complaining. Another employee made a police report about the nooses and conversations about guns being brought to work. Others filed complaints with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.
The commission,
which enforces state laws against discrimination, announced the findings of a nine-month investigation last March: GM did allow a racially hostile environment.
Darlene Sweeney-Newbern, the commission's director of regional operations, said racist behavior was so prevalent at Toledo Powertrain that she'd rank it among the worst cases her team has seen. Incidents continued while the commission was investigating, according to Sweeney-Newbern.
And she rejected GM's defense that it had taken appropriate action.
"GM did not deny that these things were taking place. They simply said, 'Hey as soon as we heard of these things we moved in and we took action.' That is not what we found in the investigation," she said.