Missouri Supreme Court hears former employees’ case against now-closed Harley Davidson plant

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMOV) — Just eight days before the plant closed in 2019, 18 employees of the Kansas City Harley-Davidson manufacturing plant filed discrimination complaints with the Missouri Human Rights Commission.

All the employees were Black, and they described a workplace culture that was all but segregated between workers employed by Harley-Davidson and those employed by human resources company Syncreon, which supplied the plant with workers.

The plaintiffs argued that the vast majority of Harley employees were white, while more than 90% of Syncreon workers were Black, and that the work site was separated with a literal dividing line to segregate the two groups.

Black employees also described a hostile work environment, including instances of threats and intimidation, which they claim were ignored by the company’s management when reported.

The plaintiffs also described multiple incidents in which a noose was found hanging in a women’s bathroom – one time, with a black doll hanging from it – along with other alleged incidents of white supremacist graffiti and even violence.

The case had been dismissed by a lower court, which the employees hope to reverse with this appeal.

“The idea that that discriminatory conduct would not be allowed to go forward to a jury of their peers for determination is inconsistent with our system of justice,” said Nimrod Chapel, Jr, representing the group of employees. “We’re a civilized society, we pay money so that we can have a law-abiding society. In order for that to happen, the courts have to be able to do their job, and that’s why it’s important that Harley Davidson and Syncreon’s argument fail today.”

The companies argued that many of the employee’s claims rely on second-hand experiences and that the employees failed to prove that they, themselves, were each directly targeted and harmed.

“There is no explanation, there is no breakdown of what each individual experienced,” said Timothy Ertz, representing Syncreon. “And we believe that Missouri has always required, under the fact pleading standard, that anyone who’s been harmed in any type of cause of action must say how they have been physically injured. That has not happened in this case.”

The court will need to decide whether the case was strong enough to have been heard in court and whether the claims of the former employees rise to the level of racial discrimination.

It’s unclear when the court will hand down a decision.

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