Protests against a Belleville factory started in the streets. They will end in court.
Ten former and current Black employees of Empire Comfort Systems have filed civil lawsuits in St. Clair County Circuit Court, alleging that the company practiced racial discrimination, overlooked harassment and created a hostile work environment at its Belleville plants.
In a statement this week, Empire officials fired back, pointing to a recent Illinois Department of Human Rights investigation of complaints filed in November 2020 by the same 10 employees, plus one more. The department released its final reports this spring.
“Over the course of nine months, 11 cases and two investigators, all claims were dismissed by the IDHR, citing that the Department had determined that ‘there was NOT substantial evidence to support the allegations of the charge(s),’” the Empire statement read.
“There wasn’t a single claim that could be supported with any evidence. Using a baseball analogy, IDHR ruled that Empire pitched a perfect game 11 out of 11 times.”
The 11 complaints contained a total of 56 specific claims, ranging from race-related harassment to unequal terms and conditions. IDHR found “lack of substantial evidence” for 50 of them and “lack of jurisdiction” on six.
Complainant and former employee Jeffrey “J.D.” Dixon disputes Empire’s interpretation of the IDHR reports. He said the findings reflect the company’s withholding of key information from investigators.
Dixon gave the example of Empire not specifying whether “inappropriate conduct” that led to the firing of a white supervisor was racial in nature.
“The state does not have legal power to make them turn over information,” Dixon said. “That’s what the civil lawsuits will do. The law will force them to provide all of the evidence, including all of the racial allegations and incidents.”
All but one of the 11 employees who complained to IDHR in 2020 filled civil lawsuits in St. Clair County in May 2022. They’re represented by Benedict Song, an attorney with Chatham & Baricevic in Belleville. He declined to comment for this story.
IDHR complaints are filed to report possible violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination with respect to employment, financial credit, public accommodations, housing and sexual harassment.
When IDHR dismisses “charges,” complainants are given two choices for further action if they disagree with investigation findings: They can request reviews by the Illinois Human Rights Commission, which are essentially agency appeals; or file civil lawsuits within 90 days.
Plaintiff was mayoral candidate
The 10 former or current Black employees at Empire who filed IDHR complaints and civil lawsuits are J.D. Dixon, Danny Fenton, Iesha Dixon, Sherman Ferguson, Chandarles Emerson, Julian Johnson, Michael A. King, Reginald Dixon Sr., Shavyon Jackson Williams and Earl Owens.
The 11th complainant, Dennis Gordon, hasn’t filed a lawsuit in St. Clair County Circuit Court.
Dixon, 34, is the most well-known plaintiff in the lawsuits. He became a Black Lives Matter activist in 2020 after leading several protest marches against Empire and forming a Facebook-based group called “Empire 13.”
Dixon launched an unsuccessful write-in campaign for Belleville mayor in April 2021. Earlier that year, Empire had fired him from his machinist job for violating the company’s policy on cellphone use at work. He called it “wrongful termination.”
“During the entirety of his employment (2017-2021), Jeffrey Dixon was subjected to overtly hostile racist acts which were done on multiple occasions by white employees of Empire,” his lawsuit states.
Dixon declined to comment this week on the pending litigation. He referred the BND to newspaper and TV coverage of protests in 2020.
At that time, Dixon and other Black employees at Empire maintained that white supervisors treated them unequally and that white employees used the N-word, made other racist comments and displayed racist images such as swastikas and Confederate flags on clothing and elsewhere.
The lawsuits allege that Empire knew about the behavior but took no action to stop it and in some cases retaliated against those who reported it. The company has denied this.
“Empire takes any and all allegations of discrimination seriously,” according to its statement. “When Empire was initially informed of the complaints, we conducted a thorough internal investigation and found insufficient evidence to support the claims.”
The BND reported in 2020 that Empire also formed a diversity panel whose members met with representatives of the Belleville Human Relations Commission and Center for Racial Harmony to evaluate the situation and determine what action should be taken.
Dixon said programs through which Empire promised to address racism didn’t mention racial discrimination or how to deal with it in the workplace. He called that “problematic.”
Safety calendar was a catalyst
Empire Comfort Systems is a 90-year-old, family-owned company that manufactures gas fireplaces, wood-burning stoves, heaters and grills. Its main plant is on Freeburg Avenue in Belleville.
Black employees went public with allegations of racism in June 2020. They were heavily focused on a 2019 safety calendar that the company had published with pictures drawn by local children.
The Black employees argued that one drawing of a black stick figure being gored by a forklift whose driver was wearing a red ball cap, the same color as “Make America Great Again” caps worn by supporters of former President Donald Trump, had hidden racist meanings.
Company officials said the child artist had patterned the drawing off a commercially available safety sign.
According to Empire’s statement this week, Black employees who later complained to IDHR asked via letter and text to be paid $200,000 to $300,000 to cancel their first protest march in 2020 and later offered to settle for $3 million each during the state investigation.
“Empire has declined and will continue to decline to provide any financial compensation for these unsubstantiated claims since they are not supported by any facts, evidence or truth,” the statement read.
“It is clear that the complainants are pursuing these allegations for personal financial gain. We look forward to defending ourselves in the upcoming lawsuits in court, where unlike on social media, truth, evidence and facts matter.”
Dixon declined to comment on whether Black employees asked for money but rejected Empire’s characterization of their motives. He said the legal process will determine if they’re entitled to compensation based on working conditions at the plants.
The 10 lawsuits ask for damages in excess of $50,000 for each count, the maximum amount that can be sought in civil court filings. Awards are ultimately decided by judges or juries.
“This has never been about money,” Dixon said. “It’s always been about justice. We protested on Juneteenth (June 19, 2020). We filed the IDHR charges in November. So we gave Empire ample time to correct their problems, to change the culture, but they didn’t.”
Full statement from Empire
Below is the full statement that Empire officials released this week. It represents the company’s first public comments in nearly two years:
“Empire Comfort Systems is aware of allegations of racial discrimination by current and former employees. Empire takes any and all allegations of discrimination seriously. When Empire was initially informed of the complaints, we conducted a thorough internal investigation and found insufficient evidence to support the claims.
“Subsequently, Empire participated in an investigation by the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR). Over the course of 9 months, 11 cases and two investigators, all claims were dismissed by the IDHR citing that the Department had determined that ‘there was NOT substantial evidence to support the allegations of the charge(s).’
“There wasn’t a single claim that could be supported with any evidence. Using a baseball analogy, IDHR ruled that Empire pitched a perfect game 11 out of 11 times.
“Empire management has not made any public statements during any of the investigations as we did not want to influence the investigations in any way. Now that all charges have been dismissed by the IDHR, it offers an opportunity to provide some clarity.
“Since the first report of racial discrimination in 2020, the complainants have demanded financial compensation. The first request was for over $200,000 - $300,000 in a written letter and then confirmed via text message, in the days just before their first protest to not have the protest. We declined.
“Then, during the IDHR investigation, it was relayed that the complainants would settle for $3 million per complainant. We declined again. When we were asked to make a counter offer, we declined.
“Empire has declined and will continue to decline to provide any financial compensation for these unsubstantiated claims since they are not supported by any facts, evidence or truth.
“It is clear that the complainants are pursuing these allegations for personal financial gain. We look forward to defending ourselves in the upcoming lawsuits in court, where unlike on social media, truth, evidence and facts matter.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated at 5:58 a.m. Friday to correct the name of Benedict Song, attorney for the plaintiffs.
This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
