Nissan employees allege racial harassment

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- Five minority employees of Nissan Motor Corp.’s

Southwestern headquarters here filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging

supervisors virtually ignored their complaints of repeated racial and

sexual harassment.

A Nissan spokeswoman, who said she still hadn’t seen the lawsuit, refused

to comment.

Imad Awad, 36, of Irvine; Jose Mario Hernandez, 40, of Santa Ana; Bruce

Lane, 38, of Santa Ana; Piyush Solanki, 36, of Corona; and Virsen

Worlikar, 44, of Rancho Santa Margarita all allege Nissan employees

called them derogatory names and left threatening letters.

“It’s very stressful working in a discriminatory environment,” said

Solanki, who is of Indian descent, in a prepared statement. He said he

found a letter in his locker at work calling him a “Lazy Indian.”

“It has affected me and my personal life in many ways. Always living with

the fear inside of ‘what if they retaliate against me and fire me?’ ”

Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, who defended the Brown family in the

O.J. Simpson murder trial, is representing the five employees of the

parts distribution department.

“This is a very important case,” she said.

Awad, who was born in Jordan, alleged he found a note in his locker

showing a noose hanging in front of a head with his name on it. A

sketched gun fired bullets toward the head.

He also alleges a supervisor touched, hugged and grabbed him in his groin

area and buttocks almost every day, according to a written statement

prepared by Allred.

And he said co-workers once left bags of urine on his tools. When he

asked management to test the urine, they threw the bags away, he said.

“I personally have been humiliated, insulted and degraded by the

discriminatory comments and racial hate notes,” he said in a prepared

statement.

Jose Mario Hernandez, who is Latino, said he received a note in his

locker depicting a swastika.

Bruce Lane, who is black, alleges co-workers called him “boy.” And he

said they twice threw his paycheck and mouse pad on the ground and told

him to “go fetch.”

Nissan has 30 days to respond to the lawsuit.