A Somerset County man is suing Puritan Medical Products, alleging pervasive racist harassment and retaliation in the workplace in violation of the Civil Rights Act.
Dupreme Ammonds, of Hartland, worked at Puritan's Pittsfield factory from 2021 into 2022.
According to a complaint filed in federal district court in Bangor earlier this month, Ammonds, who is Black and Hispanic, endured persistent racist harassment.
Alleged incidents include white coworkers using racial slurs, taunting remarks about his physical appearance, and threatening references to "sundown towns" and lynching.
Ryan Schmitz, one of Ammonds' lawyers, said in a statement that Puritan's failure to address the discrimination allowed an "environment of white supremacy to permeate its workforce."
Court documents say Ammonds filed numerous complaints with the company, but the company repeatedly failed to take corrective action.
Instead, Ammonds alleges management retaliated by reassigning him to a different unit and telling him to stop filing complaints. He eventually took a leave of absence from the company on the advice of his medical provider.
In a statement, company president Bob Shultz said Puritan denies violating the law, and "does not tolerate inappropriate conduct in the workplace".
