EEOC Sues Ourisman Automotive Group for Racial Harassment

BALTIMORE – Ourisman Edgewood I, Inc., trading as Ourisman Toyota 40, and parent company Ourisman Cars Management Company, LLC, which owns and operates approximately 50 car dealerships in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., violated federal employment law by failing to take effective remedial action in response to racial harassment of car salesmen, according to a new lawsuit the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced today.

According to the suit, after a finance manager at the Edgewood, Maryland dealership called a black car salesman “boy,” in February 2023, the salesman complained to the dealership’s management. Despite counseling by dealership management, the finance manager again referred to the salesman as “boy.” The salesman complained to management again, but days later the finance manager for a third time used the term “boy” to address a group of black salesmen. When the black salesmen protested the finance manager’s repeated use of the term “boy” to refer to black men, the finance manager responded, “good night [the N-word]s!” The company did not remove the finance manager from his position or impose another serious consequence. As a result, two of the salesmen felt compelled to leave their jobs, according to the complaint.

“The use of racial slurs at work must be treated as serious misconduct, requiring the employer to immediately take effective measures to correct and prevent continued harassment,” said Debra Lawrence, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Philadelphia District Office. “When the employer fails to act, the EEOC will.”

The alleged conduct violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits harassment based on race. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Ourisman Cars Management Company, LLC and Ourisman Edgewood I, Inc., t/a Ourisman Toyota 40), Case No. 1:26-cv-01233) in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“Eliminating racial discrimination will always be at the forefront of the Commission’s activities,” said EEOC’s Philadelphia District Director Jamie R. Williamson. “The more society advances, the more unacceptable this type of harassment becomes.”

For more information on race discrimination, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination.

The EEOC’s Baltimore Field Office is one of four offices in the EEOC Philadelphia District Office, which has jurisdiction over Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, and parts of New Jersey, and Ohio. Attorneys in the EEOC Philadelphia District Office also prosecute discrimination cases in Washington, D.C. and parts of Virginia.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.