New Jersey testing company sued for racial discrimination

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As many of our readers know, Princeton, New Jersey, is home to Educational Testing Service, which develops standardized tests like the Scholastic Aptitude Test (which we all know as the SAT), the Graduate Record Examination (commonly called the GRE) and Advanced Placement exams. Now the company is coming under scrutiny for an alleged lack of diversity and racial discrimination within its ranks. An Asian-American man who used to be a senior research scientist with ETS is suing his former employer, claiming not just years of discrimination against him, but racial discrimination against other employees. He was terminated in 2014, reportedly for something he said that made a colleague uncomfortable. However, he claims that his firing was in retaliation for complaining about discrimination at ETS and for going to human resources about one executive in particular. The lawsuit singles out this executive who reportedly made racially insensitive remarks about a number of employees and "engaged in workplace bullying…." According to the suit, the problem goes beyond this one executive. It claims that there is "very limited racial/ethnic diversity among the ETS staff at the Princeton office, particularly at the higher levels of the organization." This isn't the first time that ETS has faced charges of discrimination. There have been claims in the past that the SAT was racially biased towards white students. The company denied those accusations. In reference to this case, a spokesperson said, "we stand by our strong commitment to diversity in the workplace and to advancing learning worldwide." If you feel that you are being subjected to discrimination or inappropriate words or actions in the workplace, it's important to carefully document everything and go to your company's human resources department. If that doesn't resolve the issue or if you find yourself being retaliated against for speaking out, it may be wise to seek the guidance of a New Jersey employment law attorney. Source: NJ.com, "Former employee sues ETS testing company alleging racial discrimination," Anna Merriman, Nov. 14, 2015