Black Apple employee says complaints about treatment by white customers got him fired
A black former Apple employee is suing the tech behemoth for $750,000, alleging he was discriminated against by customers and managers — and lost his job when he complained.
Joshua Holt, 32, claimed in a lawsuit filed last week that white customers “constantly asked” if he worked at an Apple store at the Washington Square mall in Tigard, Oregon, despite having just welcomed them into the location, The Oregonian reports.
Other white shoppers also referred to Holt as a “boy” and sometimes ignored or avoided him in favor of his white colleagues at Apple, his lawsuit claims.
“When Mr. Holt shared these experiences with his co-workers and management, he was often told to ‘assume positive intent’ or that he was overreacting,” the lawsuit reads. “Mr. Holt grew increasingly upset and demoralized by Apple not taking his concerns seriously enough to warrant a meaningful response.”
The alleged “barrage of racial discrimination” took such a toll on Holt that he needed medical leave and a doctor requested that he be transferred back to an Apple store in downtown Portland, where he previously worked and could enjoy a more diverse environment.
But Apple declined to transfer Holt, who was initially hired by the California-based company in 2011 and later helped open a store in Atlanta. Managers in Oregon suggested that he “work through the interactions” on his own, according to the lawsuit.
Then, in December 2018, a white customer who was looking at an Apple watch didn’t understand what Holt was trying to tell him and asked for a white Apple employee instead, the lawsuit claims.
“Mr. Holt politely asked, ‘Isn’t that what I just said?’” according to the lawsuit, which claims the white worker gave the same response. “Mr. Holt explained he was always trying to improve his communications. The customer threw his hand in Mr. Holt’s face.”
A co-worker then had to intervene when the customer “stepped into” Holt’s personal space, according to the lawsuit. Managers then sent Holt home before putting him on administrative leave. He was later fired in March for violating company policies, according to the lawsuit.
A message seeking comment from an Apple spokesperson was not immediately returned Tuesday, but company spokeswoman Rachel Wolf Tulley declined to comment when reached by The Oregonian, citing ongoing litigation.
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