BATON ROUGE, La. – A former Herc Rentals employee is suing the equipment rental company in federal court, alleging it discriminated against him due to his race.
Plaintiff Robert Williams, who is Black, filed his lawsuit December 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana.
Williams, in his 10-page complaint, accuses defendant Herc Rentals Inc. of race discrimination, racial harassment, and retaliation.
“When Plaintiff complained about unequal pay, loss of commissions, being passed over for proper credit on accounts, and discriminatory treatment on the basis of his race, management responded with hostility and intimidation instead of investigating and correcting the problems,” his complaint states.
“Plaintiff’s complaints were treated as insubordination rather than protected activity.”
Williams was employed by Herc from February 2023 until October 2024 as an account manager. He was the only Black worker in his role and one of the only Black employees in his territory, he noted in his complaint.
Williams claims he was given a verbal assurance he would receive a new company truck, gas card, and tax-exempt personal miles as part of his employment package.
“Despite the promises made at hire, Plaintiff was initially provided an old, outdated truck and did not receive a replacement until mid-2024, when he was given a used 2017 Ford truck,” the complaint states, noting that white employees received new trucks within their first week on the job.
In his lawsuit, Williams claims he “consistently” performed his duties and maintained “excellent” client relationships – with Phoenix Services, the City of Bogalusa, and International Paper, among others.
In fact, he states Phoenix Services “specifically requested” that he handle its account exclusively.
Despite this, he discovered commissions on that account were improperly diverted to a white coworker who had nothing to do with the account.
In addition, Williams claims he was supposed to receive a 7 percent split commission on the City of Bogalusa account, but was instead paid only a 1 percent “stack” commission.
Similarly, he received a 1 percent stack commission, instead of a 7 percent split commission, on the International Paper account.
“Before Plaintiff’s involvement, no one from Herc Rentals had even visited this customer, yet Plaintiff’s contribution was minimized and undercompensated,” his complaint states.
He contends he “repeatedly” sought clarification about his commission structure and payments, but his concerns were ignored, minimized, or met with hostility.
He also alleges he was subjected to racial slurs by both a coworker and a customer during his employment. Despite reporting the incidents to management, no “meaningful” investigation or corrective action was taken, “signaling that racial hostility was tolerated within the organization.”
On Oct. 4, 2024, Williams was terminated under the pretext of “performance” reasons – even though his history of positive client relationships and success in developing accounts showed otherwise, he argues.
.”Following his termination and this lawsuit, Plaintiff believes he has been effectively blackballed from the industry as a result of his protected activity and complaints of race discrimination,” his filing states.
He seeks reinstatement, back pay, compensatory and punitive damages, and attorney’s fees.
The Law Office of Attorney Natalie Blackman in Baton Rouge is representing Williams in the action.
