PSEG worker files discrimination complaint, alleging supervisor used racial slur

An internal probe by PSEG Long Island found a supervisor used a racial slur in a discussion with a Black employee who since has filed a discrimination and retaliation claim against the New Jersey-based company, according to her filings with the New York State Division of Human Rights.

The employee, Maria Sanders-Martinez, alleged in a complaint filed in May that her supervisor and other company managers retaliated against her after she reported the slur, which ultimately led to the supervisor’s termination in October 2021, PSEG confirmed in its filings. She said she previously filed an internal whistleblower complaint in 2019, while she was a trainee, and alleged the retaliation began after that complaint.

The supervisor, according to a PSEG response to the claim, "did not recall using" the slur,  as alleged but said that "if he did, it would have been academic." The reference came up in a discussion of the Juneteenth holiday, according to the PSEG response to the claim.

PSEG investigators "substantiated" that the supervisor "used the slur," according to PSEG’s filing, but the company is asking that Sanders-Martinez’s claim be dismissed because it was filed too long after the actions took place and because it is "without merit," according to PSEG’s response.

Sanders-Martinez, who since has transferred to PSEG’s New Jersey home base, charged in her human rights claim that PSEG denied her other positions at the company, discouraged her from participating in mentorship programs and failed to provide her with adequate training. She said she was ostracized by other employees and denied advancement during her four-year tenure on Long Island.

PSEG Long Island spokeswoman Katy Tatzel said the company "cannot comment on an ongoing investigation," but stressed, "We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace. Our top priority is the safety, security and well-being of all of our employees to ensure an equitable and respectful environment for all."

The Division of Human Rights said it "cannot confirm/deny or comment on potential or active complaints and investigations."

PSEG’s filing in the Sanders-Martinez complaint notes that at one team meeting in September 2021, a manager accused unnamed employees of "weaponizing" the ethics complaint process and "discouraged them from doing so." The manager denied the claim, but the PSEG investigation concluded the manager’s comments "could reasonably dissuade an employee from voicing concerns" to the ethics office, in violation of company policy, the papers stated.

That manager was disciplined with a corrective action letter that "impacted his performance review, bonus and salary increase for 2021," according to the PSEG response letter. The manager later retired.

Her complaint follows a federal lawsuit filed last year by an employee who alleged a pattern of discrimination by the utility during a two-decade career. An amended complaint filed in June by that employee, Andre Hinds, alleges retaliation has continued. 

In Sanders-Martinez's case, PSEG noted it terminated her former supervisor when its internal probe determined it was "more likely than not that he used a racial slur in discussion with her," and that it took "corrective action" when it discovered a second manager had dissuaded workers from raising concerns to the ethics office.

Sanders-Martinez in her complaint alleged the company demoted her, gave her disciplinary or negative performance reviews and "gave me different or worse job duties than other workers doing the same job."

PSEG responded that Sanders-Martinez’s "general allegations of a retaliatory work environment were investigated, and there was no support found for these claims," according to the filing.

The complaint by Hinds includes photographs of nooses found in a company work yard and derogatory Photoshopped images of Hinds, who is Black and a 22-year utility veteran. The images were circulated by co-workers and were left on his work locker, according to the suit, which alleges Hinds was subjected to decades of racial and medical discrimination by PSEG and its predecessor National Grid, which have operated the electrical grid under contract for LIPA, starting the year after he was hired in 2004.

In an amended complaint filed in June, Hinds alleges the discrimination and harassment have continued, charging company managers consistently make him the "last person to get a truck or tools to do his job," while failing to equip him with the latest equipment, including newly released 800-amp tools given to those with less seniority, he charged.

When Newsday first reported on the nooses found at Hinds’ work location, PSEG in a statement said, "Behaviors, acts and symbols of hate like these have no place at PSEG Long Island or the worksites we occupy and will not be tolerated."

PSEG said at the time that security at the work site had been enhanced.

Tracey Brown, a lawyer for Hinds, didn’t return a call seeking comment and Hinds declined to comment. He seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages against the company.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.