(The following story by Pamela Manson appeared on The Salt Lake Tribune website on January 9.)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — A former Union Pacific Railroad employee has resolved his lawsuit that alleged the company ignored a pervasive climate of racism and harassment, subjecting him to a hostile work environment.
Ranee Tademy, an African-American, alleged in a 2004 lawsuit that he was the target of racist slurs from co-workers and supervisors and the victim of an incident involving a rope that he interpreted as a noose. A Union Pacific spokesman has said the company is committed to diversity and fairness.
Tademy joined the railroad in 1979 and last worked as a yard conductor in Salt Lake City in 2003, when he was placed on disability retirement after being diagnosed with major depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Details of the resolution are confidential. U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups signed an order Tuesday dismissing the case on the agreement of both sides.
A similar suit filed by Terry Fullwiley, another African-American employee, was dismissed in 2006. U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart ruled that many of the alleged incidents cited by the switchman occurred too long ago to be included in the suit.