“We believe this sends a strong message that intentional discrimination is not going to be tolerated and retaliation is in some ways worse as it punishes employees who bring bad acts to light.” Teresa Mastando
By Elliot Weld · Listen to article
Law360 (May 15, 2025, 5:03 PM EDT) — An Alabama federal jury has awarded $640,000 in damages to a millwright who said he was called a racist slur, demoted and then fired within months of being hired by an industrial services company.
The jury said in a verdict Wednesday that Quentin Watts’ race was a motivating factor in his demotion and eventual termination by J&L Industrial Services LLC.
The jury awarded Watts $400,000 in punitive damages, $200,000 in emotional damages and $39,240 in lost wages.
“The jury deliberated for a few hours before rendering a verdict for our client on his claims of racial discrimination and retaliation in an amount more than we requested,” Watts’ attorney Teresa Mastando of Mastando & Artrip LLC said in a statement Thursday. “We believe this sends a strong message that intentional discrimination is not going to be tolerated and retaliation is in some ways worse as it punishes employees who bring bad acts to light.”
Counsel for J&L did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Watts sued the company last year, saying when he was hired by J&L in 2022, he was one of three African American employees. He began his first assignment in Cedar Springs, Georgia, shortly after being hired and was the only African American employee at the job site, the suit said.
Within the first week on the job, a co-worker used the n-word to refer to Watts in his presence, according to the suit. Two other co-workers became angry and reported the incident to the project manager and site supervisor, Watts said.
The manager said the employee who used the slur would be fired, but he never was, according to the suit. Later, the two employees who had complained went back to J&L’s main location in Monroeville, Alabama, to complain in person but were fired as a result, the suit said.
Watts was pulled off the job in Cedar Springs and placed in J&L’s transportation shop to work on trucks with a “substantial reduction in pay,” according to the suit.
He was informed that his job was being terminated in February 2023, with J&L citing a “reduction of force” and “job task complete,” which Watts said were both false.
Watts said he never received any disciplinary action and was a “hard-working employee who was not allowed to do the job he was trained to do.”
The suit said Watts previously filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which issued a right-to-sue letter in November 2023. According to Watts, J&L provided “varying, inconsistent and false reasons” for his termination to government agencies.
Watts is represented by Teresa Mastando and Eric Artrip of Mastando & Artrip LLC.
J&L Industrial Services is represented by Emma Hope, H. William Wasden and Michael Strasavich of Burr & Forman LLP.
The case is Watts v. J&L Industrial Services LLC, case number 1:24-cv-00050, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama.
