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Former Bandai employee files discrimination lawsuit

On Behalf of | Jun 19, 2015 | Workplace Discrimination |

Maryland residents might be interested to learn about a workplace discrimination case involving the Japanese toy manufacturer Bandai. A former Bandai employee has filed a lawsuit against Bandai America Inc., Bandai Namco Holdings USA Inc. and some of his supervisors at the company. The plaintiff claims that he was wrongfully terminated from his position at Bandai after suffering from racial discrimination and harassment.

In 2010, the plaintiff was hired to work as Bandai’s senior manager in financial planning in the U.S. Shortly after he was hired at Bandai, the Vietnamese-American man says that he began experiencing discrimination because he was not Japanese. The plaintiff and other non-Japanese employees at Bandai were allegedly harassed with verbal abuse, ‘obscene laughter” and condescending gestures.

According to the discrimination complaint, Bandai’s former CEO and other supervisors told him he was a “stupid American.” The CEO also allegedly said that he would fire all of the Americans at the company if he could and that Japan should have bombed Pearl Harbor again. The plaintiff says that he was not invited to company meetings and was not given information that was necessary for him to perform his job duties. In March, the plaintiff discovered that his position at the company had been eliminated.

Employers are not permitted to discriminate against their employees because of their race, color or national origin. When this type of discrimination leads to an employee losing their position or being passed over for a promotion, the employee who was discriminated against may file a claim for financial compensation.

Source: Kotaku, “Former Employee Sues Bandai, Alleges Racism,” Brian Ashcraft, June 11, 2015