A former employee has filed a lawsuit alleging severe racial and gender discrimination, along with retaliation, against her previous employer. Michelle Gordon lodged the complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on March 24, 2025, accusing Red River Ready Mix, LLC of violating her civil rights under federal law.
Michelle Gordon, an African American woman from Homer, Louisiana, claims she faced a hostile work environment at Red River Ready Mix where she was employed as a driver starting June 6, 2022. She alleges that Mitch Carpenter, her immediate supervisor and a white male, used racially offensive language and engaged in conduct that contributed to a toxic workplace. According to Gordon's complaint, Carpenter frequently used racial slurs and imitated characters from racially insensitive media. Additionally, Jack Brown, another supervisor at the company, allegedly made sexually suggestive remarks towards Gordon and touched her inappropriately without consent.
Gordon's allegations extend beyond verbal harassment; she recounts an incident on August 26, 2022, when $900 went missing from her purse at work. Despite reporting this theft to management and being promised reimbursement after security footage implicated another employee in unrelated misconduct (drinking beer on duty), she never received compensation for her loss. Furthermore, on September 14, 2022, Gordon was physically assaulted by a coworker who also hurled racial epithets at her. Although police were called twice during this incident, no arrests were made due to interference by company management.
Gordon contends that these events exemplify systemic discrimination based on race and gender within Red River Ready Mix. She further accuses the company of retaliating against her for voicing complaints about these issues by terminating her employment on September 23, 2022—just days after notifying corporate counsel of her legal representation.
In response to these grievances, Michelle Gordon seeks compensatory damages for lost wages and emotional distress caused by the alleged discrimination and hostile work environment. She also requests punitive damages against Red River Ready Mix for their reckless disregard of her federally protected rights. Additionally, Gordon demands reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs should she prevail in court.
The case is being handled by attorney Nelson W. Cameron representing Michelle Gordon. The presiding judge's name is not specified in the document provided. The case ID is listed as Case No.: 5:25-cv-00374.