Paralegal claims discrimination by law firm because of mixed-race heritage

HOUSTON - Montgomery County resident Darren Chew claims he was subjected to racial discrimination while working for a collections law firm and has filed a lawsuit.

Recent court papers filed March 15 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas allege Rausch Sturm Israel Enerson & Hornik LLC mistreated Chew because of his mixed heritage.

The plaintiff, whose father is of Chinese descent and mother white, worked as a paralegal/paraprofessional at the time of the events in question.

He states that derogatory racial terminology was often used at the respondent's office and within the management's earshot.

According to the suit, Chew was occasionally referred to as a "chink", "chinaman", "Uncle Tom" and "cracker".

The firm's human resources department and administration received a formal complaint from the plaintiff, but "nothing was done to curb the behavior," the original petition says.

Chew further asserts the defendant instead attempted to retaliate against him by making false write-ups and denying him promotions for which he was clearly qualified.

"It was suggested to the plaintiff by an employee of the defendant that the primary reason he did not get a promotion was because the defendant feared retaliation from African American employees if the defendant promoted a Chinese employee," the suit says.

Chew says he stayed on with the respondent through April 2012 at which point "the torment and comments became so excessive and the harassment from management became much more aggressive that [he] had no choice but to leave."

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Kevin A. Forsberg of The Forsberg Law Firm PC in Montgomery Rausch Sturm Israel Enerson & Hornik LLC is representing the complainant.

Case No. 4:13-CV-738