A hotel waiter is seeking $75,000 (£49,000) in compensation after his employer honoured a request by British guests not to be served by “people of colour”.
The lawsuit filed against the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Naples, Florida follows alleged racist requests made by a British couple know as the Morgans. It is claimed when the Morgans checked in on 28th February 2010 they specially asked the hotel manager not to be served by “people of colour” or staff with “foreign accents”. Their preference was then recorded in the hotel’s computer system with a note stating “This couple is very very prejudice“.
On 12 March, Haitian-born Wanter Tranchant, a Ritz Carlton employee for 15 years, claims he was prevented by his supervisors to serve the Morgans at the hotel’s Grill Restaurant. According to the lawsuit filed by Tranchant against the hotel, this is a breach of the Civil Rights Act in not allowing him to serve the couple. This incident left Tranchant, 40, feeling “humiliated and embarrassed” and as a result “suffered severe emotional distress”.
The Ritz Carlton Group has confirmed the Morgan family have now been banned from staying at any Ritz Carlton Hotels. Company spokeswomen Vivian Deuschl, said the hotel:
“Does not tolerate or condone discrimination of any kind by its employees or visiting guests.”
The Ritz Carlton has 20 days to formally reply to this lawsuit from when it was originally filed on Tuesday 20 April 2010.
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