BATON ROUGE – A Black man says he was a victim of racial discrimination, disability discrimination and retaliation while working for Exxon Mobil.
Jamarsae Watkins filed his complaint June 5 in federal court against Exxon Mobil Corporation.
According to the complaint, Watkins has a spinal injury and cardiomegaly. He began working at the company’s Baton Rouge plan in 2012 and was promoted in 2016 after completing a four-year apprenticeship.
From the beginning of his employment, Watkins says he was subjected to persistent racial discrimination, harassment, retaliation and later disability-based discrimination by supervisors and coworkers.
In December 2012, he says trainer Greg Campagna made racially charged statements suggesting that Black people are lazy, unemployed and prefer to “chill in the hood and drink their 40s.” In late 2013, he says supervisor Chip Leger mocked his interaction with Black contractors by insinuating a connection to prisoners. He says Leger also compared Black employees to dogs.
Watkins also says employee Jeff Hebert, who is white, used the N-word on multiple occasions in his presence as well as in front of other Black employees. He says Hebert used other racist comments as well.
And during the 2020 George Floyd protests, he says supervisors Darian Wesson and Andrew McCain posted violent, racist messages on social media. Watkins says Exxon took no disciplinary action. He says both men instead were soon promoted.
“After Mr. Watkins and others reported these posts, Exxon management, including second line supervisor Francis Jackson, held a meeting with six African American employees, offering them promotions or overtime in exchange for silence,” the complaint states. “Mr. Watkins refused and was subsequently targeted.”
Watkins says he documented more than 30 instances from 2019 to 2023 where white employees committed safety violations, slept on duty or improperly used cell phones. These employees received no discipline, while he says he and other Black employees were reprimanded or demoted for minor or fabricated infractions.
He also says allegedly random drug tests actually were targeted by supervisor Richard Lemoine in hopes of firing Watkins. He also says he was denied multiple promotions that were given to less qualified white employees, some of whom had serious disciplinary histories or had nearly been terminated.
On June 6, 2022, Watkins suffered a serious spinal injury after being rear-ended at a red light. As a result, he was diagnosed with cervical and lumbar disc herniations, requiring ongoing medical treatment, including injections and ultimately corrective surgery. He says he could do his work that didn’t involve manual labor.
In November 2023, Watkins says he had his cell phone on his desk during a shift. He says company policy warrants, at most, an oral reminder, but he says he was demoted days later to a physically demanding role of assistant operator. Just days earlier, Watkins’ doctor had said he couldn’t perform such tasks as climbing towers, operating heavy machinery or lifting heavy objects.
Days after the demotion, Watkins suffered a cardiac episode and altered his work schedule without informing him, creating the risk of an unexcused absence in an effort to justify his termination.
In late 2024, Watkins was told a job search had begun to place him in a more suitable position, but he says Exxon limited the search to the Baton Rouge area instead of doing a nationwide search. In December 2024, he was told there were no positions available and he would be forced to resign from his position.
“These actions establish a clear attempt by defendant to constructively discharge Mr. Watkins rather than provide accommodations for his documented medical condition,” the complaint states. “Moreover, evidence of systemic discriminatory animus towards African American employees at Exxon is well documented.
“Between 2016 and 2020, nooses were found at the Baton Rouge facility on five separate occasions, a symbol of racial terror that Exxon failed to address meaningfully. Notably, employees who engaged in racist conduct, including Mr. Leger, who was reported for hate speech, and Mr. Wesson, who posted hate speech online, were rewarded with promotions rather than held accountable, fostering a hostile working environment that rewarded bad actors.”
Watkins accuses Exxon Mobile of creating a hostile work environment, racial discrimination, retaliation, violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and violating the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. He says he has suffered physical injury, emotional distress, humiliation, embarrassment and anguish.
He seeks back pay, front pay, lost compensation, lost benefits, liquidated damages, punitive damages, general damages, special damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, court costs, attorney fees, expert witness fees and other costs.
Watkins is being represented by Karl White and Christopher Minias of the Minias Law Firm in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana case number 3:25-cv-00489
