Second Race And Ethnicity Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Corbion D/B/A Caravan Ingredients Inc

by | May 4, 2023 | Cases

Race And Ethnicity Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Corbion in Totowa, New Jersey And Its Human Resources Manager.

We filed a Race and Ethnicity Discrimination lawsuit in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Passaic  County, against  Corbion  d/b/a Caravan Ingredients Inc., located at 100  Adams Drive, Totowa, New Jersey and its human resource manager, Stephanie Wypasek in connection with the termination of a Hispanic Employee.

The lawsuit alleges as follows, among other allegations:

  • Plaintiff is Hispanic, father of four children and employed by Corbion for 5 years as a material handler.
  • Plaintiff was fired by Wypasek who claimed that plaintiff “stared” at certain other employees during an investigation, and that an employee “reported feeling retaliated against” by plaintiff.
  • Plaintiff asserted that Wypasek, who is Caucasian, alleged that the “acts of staring at employees whom he believes reported him and the uncorroborated claims he raised against employees whom he believes accused him are all acts of intimidation and retaliation, which are unacceptable in the workplace.”
  • Plaintiff further alleged that Wypasek claimed that plaintiff referred to  other employees as ‘Lambon,’ which she described as a “Spanish slang” meaning  “‘kissing supervisor [sic] ass,” which, according to Wypsek, is “distasteful” and a “violation of Corbion’s policies,” including policies agaisnt “Use of Unprofessional language or insulting language toward another employee.”
  • Plaintiff further alleged that Wypasek claimed that she viewed video recordings and noticed that plaintiff starting work an average of 20 minutes late, which, according to Wypasek, is a violation of Corbion’s policy against “wasting company’s time.”
  • Plaintiff alleges that non-Hispanic co-workers and supervisors frequently start their shift late without any discipline and is ordinarily a relatively minor infraction.
  • Further, plaintiff alleges that Wypasek knew that non-Hispanic employees, as well as supervisors, repeatedly uttered comparative “offensive term,” yet Wypasek failed to impose any disciplined reasonably close to termination.

Plaintiff’s lawsuit alleges Race and Ethnicity Discrimination in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), Retaliation in violation of the LAD, and Aiding and Abetting discrimination and retaliation in violation of the LAD.

Generally, unless there is an employment agreement between the employer and employee, an employer is free to hire or fire anyone at will, with or without reason.  However, under the LAD, an employer cannot discriminate against any employee in the terms and conditions of that employee’s employment including hiring, promotion, discipline, salary, etc.

If you have any information relevant to this case, or if you are victim of workplace discrimination or harassment, kindly contact us at 201-222-0123 or [email protected]