Republic Parking System in ChattanoogaA Chattanooga parking company has released a statement in response to a recent civil lawsuit filed alleging racist practices by at least one of its employees.
Three Republic Parking System employees filed the employment discrimination lawsuit last week alleging that from 2009 until 2010 their immediate supervisor, Jim Cannon, repeatedly made racist and sexually charged remarks.
The allegations also claim that the the men saw a noose displayed in the company's downtown Chattanooga office in July 2010.
"We were completely surprised to see this lawsuit filed because the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already dismissed complaints filed by two of the employees in question, and the EEOC is in the process of reviewing the third one," Jan Veal, the company's director of human resources, said in the statement.
The company takes pride in its "impeccable track record as an equal opportunity employer," Veal said.
The employees -- Stencial Parrish Jr., Donald Sterling and Vantwan Stokes -- are black men who continue to work at the company.
Parrish further alleges in his lawsuit that after he complained about the racist language of his supervisor his 40-hour work week was cut to less than 20 hours.
The lawsuit does specify how much is sought in money damages.