Two Black men have filed separate lawsuits against Rivian, alleging they faced racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation while working at the electric automaker’s facilities in Normal.
Both lawsuits were filed this week in federal court, by the same attorney, related to conduct that allegedly happened in 2022.
The first plaintiff was a contracted employee through MacLellan Services, Rivian’s custodial services contractor. His lawsuit is against Rivian “doing business as” MacLellan Services.
The first plaintiff claimed a co-worker called him the N-word, and that another co-worker said, “That’s not going to work, Buckwheat,” after he made a mistake during training. He also claimed his “team lead” made an “ignorant, racially motivated” comments to him.
The first plaintiff said he reported some of the alleged conduct to his supervisor. He said an HR representative asked him to “just ignore the racist and offensive comments being made toward him, suggesting to just not let it bother him and to not ‘take them to heart,’” the lawsuit claimed.
“No action has been taken to curb the racist and discriminatory conduct,” the lawsuit said.
The second plaintiff said he was hired by Rivian through Arrow Talent Management, a staffing agency. His lawsuit is against both Rivian and Arrow. His exact role at Rivian and Arrow was unclear Thursday.
The second plaintiff claimed his supervisor called him the N-word after a tool broke while he was using it. The plaintiff claims he was fired after reporting the supervisor’s comment to his Arrow representative.
The lawsuits seek unspecified damages.
Rivian said Thursday that it “does not comment on active litigation cases. However, we do not tolerate harassment or discrimination of any kind.”
Meanwhile, a former Rivian employee’s federal lawsuit alleging sexual harassment at the Normal plant remains pending. That lawsuit was filed in September.
Rivian has around 7,100 employees in Normal, where it makes electric trucks, SUVs and vans.
