HOUSTON — Two former employees are suing a Houston-based drilling corporation, alleging violations to Title VII through racial discrimination and unlawful termination.
Kenneth Davis, Jr. of Alabama, and David Hand, of Mississippi, both African-Americans, filed a lawsuit Jan. 29 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas against Independence Contract Drilling Inc., alleging racial discrimination.
According to the lawsuit, in 2013, Davis and Hand worked as floor hands for ICD at a facility in West Texas where they were the only two African-American employees at that facility. The suit says the plaintiffs were employees only for the purposes of Title VII requirements and both experienced racism and harassment.
The lawsuit states Davis and Hand went to their boss, Billy Hays, seeking transfers and to hold meetings to deal with the abuse, but there was no solution. Instead, the suit says, both were suspended without pay July 26, 2013, and a few days later, both were terminated for violating ICD’s cell phone policy after Davis and Hand recorded the abuse on their phones.
Davis and Hand seek a jury trial, back pay and lost benefits, reinstatement or alternative front pay and compensatory damages, plus court and attorney fees. They are represented by attorneys David C. Holmes of Houston and Michael L. Grace of the Grace Law Firm PLLC in Quitman, Mississippi.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case number 4:16-cv-00252