Toledo man sues DTE Energy in federal court over alleged discrimination, retaliation
Anne SnabesEditor's Note: Jason McClellan's first name was inaccurate in an earlier version of this story.
A former DTE Energy employee is suing the utility over alleged racial discrimination and retaliation.
In a federal lawsuit filed last week in Detroit's U.S. District Court, Jason McClellan, who is Black, alleges that his supervisor used a racial slur in front of him and the company retaliated against him for participating in an ethics investigation into the incident.
His attorney, Amanda Ghannam, said it was “extremely disturbing” that DTE permitted a White supervisor to use a racial slur.
“And then when Mr. McClellan complained about it, fired him, while permitting the supervisor who used this slur to advance in the company,” she said. “It's just a really disturbing disparity in treatment, and in the year 2023, we should not still be seeing this happening.”
McClellan, who was a supervisor overseeing 16 employees, said in the filing that in January 2022, he attended a meeting with two other employees and his supervisor, John Wagner.
Wagner said at the meeting he had taken a DNA test to determine his racial and ethnic background. He told McClellan the test results showed that he “had some African in him,” the document said.
Wagner, according to the complaint, said to McClellan: “Now I can start saying “What’s up my (racial slur)” to you!”
DTE placed Wagner on a paid two-week suspension while they investigated the incident. He was allowed to return to work and was ultimately promoted.
DTE representative Dan Miner said the company can’t comment specifically on pending litigation, but he noted that DTE has zero tolerance for employees who discriminate based on race, gender and other personal characteristics.
“We strive to create a work environment where everyone feels welcomed and included because we know that enables team members to apply their best energy toward serving our customers, communities and each other,” he said.
January 2022 incident
McClellan of Toledo filed a lawsuit in federal court on Oct. 10.
In January 2022, when Wagner allegedly said the racial slur, McClellan responded by shaking his head and giving Wagner a look that conveyed that he could not believe what he had just heard, the filing said. Wagner allegedly attempted to downplay the severity of what he had said by passing it off as “just a joke.”
“Mr. McClellan replied with a statement to the effect of “Yeah, funny joke” with sarcasm in his voice,” the complaint said.
McClellan didn’t immediately report Wagner’s conduct because “he feared retaliation by his immediate supervisor,” the complaint said. Other employees learned what had taken place, and in spring 2022, an employee made a report of Wagner’s conduct to DTE’s Ethics Hotline. Wagner then had to take a paid two-week suspension.
What came after suspension
After the suspension, DTE allowed Wagner to return to work and permitted him to “bid on and receive a highly desired field position in which he could earn overtime pay (a position that he knew Mr. McClellan had also expressed interest in).”
“Not only was he not really disciplined, he received at best a slap on the wrist, in the form of a paid leave, for ... using the most inflammatory racial slur in American history, but he was then permitted to not only return, but advance at work, which is extremely disturbing,” Ghannam said.
Around June 2022, McClellan expressed interest in transferring to a field position, which required him to take a timed physical test. He saw Wagner when he arrived at the training yard for the test.
“Mr. McClellan performed poorly on the physical test because he felt highly nervous, anxious, humiliated, and uncomfortable at the sight of Mr. Wagner and other supervisors who he knew to be friendly with Mr. Wagner,” the complaint said.
McClellan tried to call in sick the next day but couldn’t reach anyone at DTE’s medical hotline. He had the wrong number for DTE’s medical facility, the complaint said. He received a call from Jeff Hooks of DTE’s Corporate Security department, who asked him to provide proof of a positive COVID-19 test. He then learned that he had the wrong number, and ultimately called the correct one.
Hooks called him back. During that conversation, he accused McClellan of failing to follow the company COVID-19 protocol by failing to contact DTE’s medical facilities to call in sick. McClellan explained that he had called the wrong number, but that the situation had been resolved.
McClellan then sought to retake the physical exam, but DTE would not allow him to do so, according to the complaint.
On Aug. 18, 2022, he received a phone call from his supervisor, informing him that corporate security had called and said that McClellan had to get off the property immediately. Then on Sept. 2, McClellan’s supervisor and an HR representative called him and read a letter that terminated his employment, according to the document.
“The letter stated only that Mr. McClellan’s “conduct and work performance has not met company and management expectations” without any specific detail,” the complaint reads.