Former employee sues NASCAR for sexual harassment

Former employee sues NASCAR for sexual harassment Mauricia Grant, former racing official, is suing NASCAR for $225 million, alleging racial and sexual discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Mauricia Grant, who is 32-years-old African-American woman, worked for NASCAR as a technical inspector responsible for certifying cars for the Nationwide Series from January 2005 until her termination in October of 2007. According to the lawsuit Grant has filed, she was often referred to at work as "Nappy Headed Mo" and "Queen Sheba", was often told she worked on "colored people time" and one of the officials often made remarks about the KKK. In addition, Mauricia Grant accuses two other NASCAR employees of exposing themselves in front of her and making rude sexual jokes. The lawsuit was filed by Mauricia Grant on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, listing 23 specific incidents of alleged sexual harassment and 34 specific incidents of alleged racial and gender discrimination, starting from the time she was hired in January 2005 until she was fired, NASCAR citing a poor work performance.

"I loved it. It was a great, exciting, adrenaline-filled job where I worked with fast cars and the best drivers in the world. But there was an ongoing daily pattern [of harassment]. It was the nature of the people I worked with, the people who ran it, it trickled down from the top. It's just the way things are in the garage," Mauricia Grant was quoted by the AP.

Published on 06/10/2008