Michael Turner has filed a lawsuit against Daigle Towing Service, L.L.C., alleging racial discrimination and a hostile work environment. The complaint was filed on January 7, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Turner accuses Daigle Towing of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 42 U.S.C. § 1981 by subjecting him to discriminatory practices during his employment.
The lawsuit details a series of alleged incidents that began shortly after Turner started working for Daigle Towing as a steersman/deckhand on October 10, 2022. According to Turner, he was subjected to racially derogatory remarks from Albert Daigle, the company's president, who referred to him as "the black boy" despite Turner's corrections. This behavior reportedly continued throughout Turner's employment, contributing to a hostile work environment.
Turner claims that he faced unequal treatment compared to his Caucasian colleagues. He alleges that he received lower wages than agreed upon and was denied opportunities for professional advancement. Despite being hired with the expectation of steering duties to advance his license, Turner states he was only assigned deckhand tasks. Furthermore, while other employees received Christmas bonuses, Turner did not.
The complaint also describes an incident on December 24, 2022, where Turner was tasked with building barges under strenuous conditions without adequate support. When he requested assistance from President Daigle, the response included racially charged comments overheard by Turner: "These black guys are lazy and all deserve to die." Following these events and further derogatory remarks from Daigle regarding Turner's early departure from a shift due to safety concerns, Turner was terminated.
Turner is seeking relief through compensatory damages for emotional distress and economic losses due to lost wages and benefits. He also seeks punitive damages for what he describes as intentional discrimination with malice or reckless indifference by Daigle Towing.
The Case ID is: 2:25-cv-00052.