Whites Only? Vivint's Racist Fort Draws Ire

(RTTNews) - Vivint Solar, a publicly traded home automation and energy company based in Utah, has been sued by a former employee for racial harassment.

In a lawsuit filed Monday in California Superior Court in Sacramento County, Teshawn Solomon, who is black, said white supervisors called him a variation of "N"-word and compared him to a monkey. The lawsuit also alleges that white employees used cardboard boxes to build a protective fort around their desks that was spray-painted with the words "white only."

Solomon also claims that the regional manager did not take any action even after he complained and showed him photos of the clubhouse. The regional manager later told him not to speak to human resources.

According to the lawsuit, Solomon resigned soon after because he felt there was "nowhere he could turn to for relief from the discrimination, harassment and retaliation he was experiencing."

Meanwhile, Vivint Solar CEO David Bywater, in a statement, said "I am deeply disturbed by these allegations, which our executive team first became aware of on Monday, June 10, 2018, when the lawsuit detailing his experiences was publicly filed."

"I want to firmly state that Vivint Solar has a zero-tolerance policy for racial discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Our company is built on the strength of diversity. The disturbing experience described by our former employee does not reflect the values or culture of Vivint Solar and stands in direct contradiction to our core values as a company."