Webster man claims no promotion due to race

GALVESTON - A Webster man alleges that he is a victim of employment discrimination because of his national origin, recent court documents say.

Gabriel Rieson has filed suit against Veolia Industrial Services in the Galveston Division of Southern District of Texas, claiming the company failed to promote him because he is of Nigerian descent.

The original complaint was filed Dec. 10.

The plaintiff has worked for the industrial cleaning services company since September 2006, with the exception of a two-year hiatus between December 2007 and March of this year.

According to Rieson, the defendant "subjected him to the lowest, entry-level job other than the operator position to which he was hired." New supervisors listed and treated Rieson as a technician or helper, the suit says.

Rieson insists he felt a false sense of job security, stating that he worked an average of 16 hours per week instead of 40 and had his health insurance withheld beyond the grace period. Veolia even intentionally decreased his pay rate of $19.24 by $5, he asserts.

The plaintiff says he did not address his grievances with the management because he feared termination.

U.S. District Court Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt is presiding over the case.

Case No. 3:10-cv-00582