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SOUTHEAST TEXAS RECORD

Friday, March 29, 2024

Harris County woman sues Hydrochem, alleging employment discrimination

Termination

A Harris County woman is suing her former employer, alleging discrimination.

Yolanda Mayers filed a complaint June 25 in the Houston Division for the Southern District of Texas against Hydrochem, formerly known as Aquilex Hydrochem, alleging employment discrimination.

According to the complaint, Mayers, an African-American, began working for Hydrochem as a vacuum truck driver in August 2012, receiving $13 per hour. The suit says during her training and screening process, Mayers overheard a Hydrochem supervisor telling a recently hired male vacuum truck driver the starting pay for vacuum truck drivers was $16 per hour, and $18 per hour at the DOW Chemical site in Deer Park.

A supervisor confirmed with Mayers that her pay was indeed $13 per hour, not $16 per hour, the lawsuit says. In October 2012, Mayers moved to the DOW Deer Park work site and was given a raise to $15 per hour, but after receiving her first paycheck, she compared it to her male coworkers and realized she was being paid $3 per hour less than the male drivers, according to the suit.

Mayers asked several supervisors about the pay discrepancy but was told she was among the highest paid drivers at the Deer Park site and was being paid fairly, the complaint says. In April 2013, Mayers and a male coworker were accused of sleeping on the job, the suit says, and Mayers was terminated, but the male coworker was not.

The complaint alleges the defendant's actions constituted intentional, deliberate and malicious discrimination.

Mayers seeks actual and compensatory damages, interest, attorney fees and costs of the suit. She is represented by attorney Ike Okorafor of Okorafor Law Group in Houston.

Houston Division for the Southern District of Texas case number 4:15-cv-01814.

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