NEWBURGH – Two employees of Parkhurst, the company hired by Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh to operate its dining facilities, are claiming they have been discriminated against because they are African-American and have been degraded with racist comments by superiors.
Betty Jacobs, a black kitchen worker, was suspended for eating a pre-made sandwich at the end of her shift, which she said is an acceptable procedure. She said another worker, a white woman, has taken sandwiches at the end of her shift, but was never stopped.
“Any other day if we weren’t entitled to have anything, one of the supervisors would come up to us and say we weren’t entitled to it, but instead, my executive chef stood right in front of me and watched me with my sandwich in my hand and watched me clock out and say, ‘you have a nice day’,” she recounted.
Jacobs said she was also told by a superior that they were “clowns.” Her aunt, Crystal Mclean also works for Parkhurst as a prep cook and she said she has been racially disrespected by a superior, who said she should be “muzzled, cattle prodded and hog tied.”
A spokesman for the food service business, Kevin O’Connell, said,
“It’s against company policy to discuss the details of individual
personnel matters publicly. However, we treat all of our team members
equally without regard to age, race, gender, religion or sexual orientation.”
James Raimo, vice president for Facilities and Operations at the Mount,
said the college “takes these concerns very seriously. We expect
Parkhurst Dining will complete a full and thorough investigation of this
complaint.” Raimo said the college “prides ourselves on a very
welcoming and inclusive community atmosphere on campus for everyone and
reject discrimination of any kind.”
