KENOSHA, Wis. — Car dealership Kenosha Nissan violated federal law when it retaliated against multiple employees for reporting racial harassment and fired one of them, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit announced today.

According to the suit, Kenosha Nissan management threatened several black employees who reported racial harassment in 2024. After learning of the reports, a manager warned employees that if they contacted HR again, the manager would “make [their] lives a living hell,” and told another employee who raised concerns about the harassment to “shut up.” Within days, management changed its office policies and work schedules in retaliation and began heavily disciplining employees for minor infractions, some of which were false, targeting the employees who reported harassment. Several employees resigned for fear of being terminated. Kenosha Nissan also fired an employee in retaliation for complaining about the harassment and/or because of his race, the suit charged.

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits retaliating against employees because they have opposed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. The EEOC filed suit (EEOC v. Rohr-Kenosha Motors Inc. d/b/a Kenosha Nissan, Case No. 26-cv-01414) in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin after first attempting to reach a pre-litigation settlement through its administrative conciliation process.

“Retaliation against employees who report or oppose unlawful discrimination violates federal law and can discourage others from coming forward,” said Catherine Eschbach, acting EEOC general counsel. “Employees must be able to exercise their rights under Title VII without fear of punishment for doing so.”

For more information on race/color discrimination and retaliation, please visit https://www.eeoc.gov/racecolor-discrimination and https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation.

The EEOC’s Chicago District Office has jurisdiction over Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota, with Area Offices in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.

The EEOC is the sole federal agency authorized to investigate and litigate against businesses and other private sector employers for violations of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. For public sector employers, the EEOC shares jurisdiction with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. The EEOC also is responsible for coordinating the federal government’s employment antidiscrimination effort. More information about the EEOC is available at www.eeoc.gov.