Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Sidebar - Appeals Court Again Rejects Racial Discrimination Claim - NYTimes.com

Sidebar - Appeals Court Again Rejects Racial Discrimination Claim - NYTimes.com: John Hithon, a black man, spent 13 tough years working his way into the lower ranks of management at a Tyson Foods chicken plant in Gadsden, Ala. He started out as a “live hanger,” hoisting 24 squirming birds onto moving metal hooks every minute. Then he moved up to what court records called “killing and picking.” He was later made a supervisor in charge of “eviscerating and deboning.”

But when two better jobs as shift supervisors opened up, Mr. Hithon was passed over by the plant manager, who was white, in favor of two white candidates from other Tyson plants. Mr. Hithon thought his skin color had something to do with it, and he sued for racial discrimination.