PG&E Fired Him For Racial Reasons, Former Employee Says

SAN FRANCISCO - Pacific Gas & Electric fired a black supervisor two weeks after his 59th birthday to retaliate for his refusal to violate the civil rights of another black employee, Adolph Vincent Jr. claims in Federal Court.

Vincent was one of only two black supervisors in PG&E's field services department, which had at least 50 employees. He says his supervisor, defendant Rick Fuhrman, retaliated after Vincent "advocated" for a fellow black employee.

Vincent says Fuhrman "angrily chastised" him for trying to accommodate the employee, then cut short Vincent's vacations and denied him opportunities for promotions, special assignments and mentoring.Vincent says he also was ordered not to communicate with his son, who also worked for PG&E.

A few months later, in October 2005, the black employee for whom Vincent had advocated was excused from work due to a serious medical condition. Vincent said Furhman ordered him to deny the man Family Medical Leave. Vincent says his refusal brought sharp and hostile reprimands by Furhman.

White co-workers used the same amount of family-medical leave and more, but Furhman never pulled their records or confronted their white supervisors, Vincent says.

Vincent says Furhman often asked him his age and when was going to retire, and suggested more than once that Vincent "should get out as soon as he could."

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