HERMISTON – Two former employees of a Hermiston home manufacturer claim they endured years of racism against blacks, discrimination and, in the case of one woman, sexual harassment only to be fired after reporting the incidents to managers, one filed with the federal agency Lawsuit in court this week.
The complaint comes from two black women who worked for Marlette Homes between 2018 and 2020. The company also operates as Clayton Hermiston and registers as CMH Manufacturing West, Inc., part of billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, which controls a prefabricated house. Imperium and was itself criticized in 2015 for allegedly exploiting people of color through predatory lending practices.
Twin sisters Lisa Williams and Angela Pierce, both 55, accuse the company’s Hermiston office of having a hostile work environment, sexual harassment, racial discrimination, unlawful dismissal and whistleblower retaliation.
“MS. Williams and Ms. Pierce heard and saw (the N-word) used around them, saw swastika symbols in the defendant’s bathroom, and were exposed to physical assault and other dangers,” the complaint read.
“We have no comment right now,” said Erinn Gailey-Genack, Marlette Homes HR director, when she was reached by phone on Wednesday, July 21st.
CMH Manufacturing’s Tennessee-based corporate office did not respond to requests for comment.
State records show the company denied similar allegations of illegal behavior earlier this year, while admitting racist slurs surfaced in the company’s bathrooms.
The lawsuit describes times when Pierce and Williams were the only black employees, “and this seemed to be specifically aimed at them”. As of 2017, the company has reported hiring six employees who identified themselves as Black or African American.
Last year the sisters sent complaints to the Oregon Labor and Industry Bureau. In his response, Clayton Hermiston agreed that Pierce had reported offensive language in the toilets to management.
“Every time this has happened (Clayton Hermiston) has fully investigated the incident and taken steps to prevent future incidents, including restricting access to Sharpie markers,” wrote attorney Krishna Balasubramani to BOLI investigators, adding added that the company “was never able” to identify who wrote the offensive racial slur on the wall, or even determine whether it was an employee or a visitor.
The sisters claim the bathrooms have been repeatedly defaced with swastikas and the N word. At the time, Pierce was a janitor cleaning these rooms. Williams was working on finishing and cleaning the mobile homes. The complaint alleges that Williams was subjected to excessive workload and sexual harassment from a colleague. The lawsuit named individual superiors for alleged aiding and abetting behavior.
According to attorney Meredith Holley, Williams wrote a letter to Warren Buffett himself in August asking for help.
“Because of my legitimate complaints … I was retaliated against myself through bogus and untrue disciplinary proceedings,” read a copy of Holley’s August 8 letter.
Williams was re-attributed three weeks later. The document, which was also made available to her by her lawyer, prevented her from “continuing this or previous incident, curse or other disturbance of your team in any way”.
“They will also no longer send letters or complaints to the Home Office unless it is a new or different issue.”
Williams refused to sign the formal reprimand. She was released 10 days later.
In his response to the BOLI complaint, Clayton Homes denied reprimanding Williams for contacting corporate headquarters. It states that she was released “on legitimate, non-discriminatory grounds”.
Clayton Hermiston told state investigators that Pierce had been fired for “hostility and aggressive, rebellious behavior.” Pierce alleged she was fired for intervening in a meeting to help her sister file discrimination claims.
Last month, the state employment agency closed its investigation without reaching a decision because the women withdrew complaints to pursue a federal lawsuit.
Clayton Hermiston claims to have around 190 employees. Clayton Homes construction companies employ more than 12,000 people nationwide, according to the company’s website.
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