Hotels.com Hit with Multi-Plaintiff Race Discrimination Lawsuit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 7, 2009 
www.juliejohnsonlaw.com  

Hotels.com Hit with Multi-Plaintiff Race Discrimination Lawsuit

Dallas, TX - August 7, 2009 - Two former African-American employees have filed a lawsuit against Hotels.com, and its parent company, Expedia, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXPE), in Dallas County District Court, alleging that Hotels.com discriminated against them because of their race. Charnessa M. Latimer-Hiland and Opal Warden were employed at the company's Dallas, Texas headquarters in the Financial Operations Department. Both women were seasoned auditors who were recognized as exceptional employees. Julie Johnson, a Dallas attorney that represents individuals in employment discrimination lawsuits, represents these two employees and several others that will also soon file suit against the company. These employees, according to Johnson, experienced what many observers deem the "Obama Effect" - that is, latent racism against black employees emerging in the workplace in response to President Obama's successful presidential campaign. The idea that racism is a response to feelings of threat is nothing new. The theory is that the more inroads African-Americans and other racial minorities make, the more intense feelings of racism towards these groups become. Johnson explains, in Plaintiffs' case, "as the prospect of an African-American President became increasingly likely, black employees caught the fall-out at work."

Paradoxically, at the same time the country was preparing to elect its first black President, the Ku Klux Klan reversed its historical decline, expanding from 155 chapters to 186 in 2008. The EEOC reported a 15 percent spike in discrimination charges that same year. Latimer-Hiland and Warden were responsible for two of those charges. Both employees had experienced race discrimination from the same supervisor. Their Petition alleges that although Latimer-Hiland experienced problems with this supervisor before Barack Obama became a Presidential contender, Latimer-Hiland, Warden, and other African-American employees under this manager's supervision experienced an increase in racially-motivated unfair treatment as the general election approached. Latimer-Hiland and Warden were ultimately terminated the day President Obama was inaugurated.

In addition to their terminations, Latimer-Hiland, Warden and Johnson's other clients allege that they received discriminatory performance reviews and other discipline, and were passed over for promotions and favorable work assignments in favor of less-qualified white employees. According to Plaintiffs' lawsuit, these types of discriminatory events escalated during the final months of Obama's presidential campaign. They point to comments made by their supervisor as additional evidence that this treatment escalated in severity as it became increasingly likely that the nation would see its first black President.

Two of Johnson's clients were terminated shortly after they posted a picture of President Obama on the department's bulletin board as an example of a good motivational speaker. These former employees also report that they were disciplined for making photocopies of Obama's inauguration on the department's copier, while white employees that used the copier for personal reasons were not disciplined. These black employees, too, were fired shortly after Obama's inauguration.

Attorney Julie Johnson often represents employees in race discrimination lawsuits. To contact Julie Johnson, please call (888) 416-9572, or send her an email. Additional information about Julie Johnson and her other areas of practice can be found at: Julie Johnson

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