DETROIT — Less than 24 hours after Founders Brewing Company announced the closure of their Detroit Taproom, a new lawsuit was filed Monday, claiming racial discrimination against the location and company.
The lawsuit, filed by former employee and African American woman, Naeemah Dillard, alleges she was forced to quit her position as part-time manager of the Detroit Taproom after the work environment became "objectively racially hostile."
This is the second time in five years the Grand Rapids-based company has been sued for racial discrimination.
Dillard worked at the Detroit Taproom from June 8, 2021 to April 23, 2023.
Dillard's lawsuit claims multiple failures by the Founders Brewing workplace and management to take complaints of racial discrimination and sexual misconduct seriously. It also alleges managers passed on Dillard for promotions, giving them to white coworkers instead.
She also accused Founders of promoting her to a management role for "purely optic reasons."
Some of the harassment Dillard brought forward in her complaint alleged she has "not struggled enough to be Black," and to be careful her toddler does not "steal any money."
When complaints were brought forward, the lawsuit says Dillard was met with retaliation in the form of diminished hours or ignoring her complaints all together.
13 ON YOUR SIDE reached out to Founders regarding these claims and the closure of the Detroit Taproom, and received this statement in response:
"We are deeply saddened and concerned to learn of the recent accusations that have been brought against the Detroit Taproom. We take these claims very seriously, and we are conducting a thorough internal investigation.
Since 2019, we have instituted mandatory bias, discrimination and harassment training throughout our organization. We have reexamined our policies and enacted new policies, along with implementing new procedures for the reporting of workplace concerns.
Closing a business is a difficult decision, and this decision was made after a several year evaluation of the Detroit Taproom’s financial performance that began prior to COVID and was made worse by the pandemic. During the closure of our Detroit facility on Monday, we were unaware of the filing. We announced the closing to all of our Detroit staff on Monday morning, and did not learn about the lawsuit filed against Founders until that evening when a reporter contacted us. As with any closure, there was a lot of work that needed to be done to prepare for the loss of this extension, including redistribution of internal assets, conversations with our landlord and pulling together a comprehensive severance plan, all of which take time.
As to the pending lawsuit, we are sorry that this individual did not have a good experience with us, and to the extent it was due to our actions or inactions that contributed to that, we are deeply sorry."
13 ON YOUR SIDE also spoke to Graci Harkema, DEI Director at Founders, regarding the lawsuit.
"What we saw from the last time that this happened, it wasn't handled well. It wasn't handled properly," Harkema said. "And unfortunately, by seeing what and reading through the lawsuit, the lawsuit transcripts, there hasn't been internal change to make the company culture more inclusive. And like before, this change needs to stat at the top. And it needs to be reflected throughout the entire organization."
You can read the full complaint filed by Dillard below:
The lawsuit alleges the unlawful actions by the company resulted in sustained injuries and damages including, but not limited to, loss of pay, loss of vacation and sick days, loss of career opportunities, humiliations and embarrassment, mental anguish and emotional distress, loss of professional reputation and loss of the ordinary pleasures of everyday life.
Dillard is seeking all lost wages and benefits past and future be awarded to her, as well as awarding her appropriate equitable relief, compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and other relief as the court seems just.
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