Sacramento train builder agrees to workplace review after racial harassment complaint

A German company with a large train manufacturing plant in Sacramento agreed to an independent review of its workplace practices after a worker reported race-based harassment, the California Civil Rights Department announced Wednesday.

As part of the settlement, Siemens Mobility agreed to compensate the employee — who filed a complaint with the agency in 2023 — without admitting to any liability.

That worker alleged that “multiple co-workers over a period of several months would daily use derogatory terms either associated with Black people or Latinos,” according to a Civil Rights Department news release, which does not specify the amount of monetary compensation. The complainant “identified as African American,” the department’s public affairs staff clarified in an email to The Sacramento Bee.

The employee, who worked at Siemens’ Florin plant, claimed to have faced retaliation — including suspension and being escorted out of the French Road facility by security staff — for raising the concern about harassment, the news release said.

A Siemens spokesperson, Kara Evanko, said that the claims of retaliation were “false,” adding that the company “is firmly committed to providing a work environment free of discrimination, intimidation, and harassment and denied the allegations in the complaint.”

The eight-page settlement agreement specifies that Siemens Mobility has hired an outside consultant, approved by state regulators, to “assess the efficacy of its equal employment opportunity practices” at the plant, which builds rolling stock. The consultant will look into any racial tensions, incidents of harassment and how the company handles complaints.

The company will have to share with Civil Rights Department officials a written report by the consultant and then implement policies recommended by the consultant and the agency, or else return to mediation.

“There is no place for derogatory slurs in the workplace,” Civil Rights Director Kevin Kish said in a statement. “Through this voluntary settlement, Siemens Mobility is doing the right thing to help protect workers in our state.”

The Siemens Mobility facility in Florin is the company’s headquarters for North American railway manufacturing. It employs over 2,500 people, according to the company’s website.

A unionization effort at the plant failed in March.