Electric utility company ComEd made headlines last year after Chicago historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas, who once was a ComEd lineman, said he was lured out of his safe union job by the CEO and then promptly fired. The company, headquartered in Chicago, is making workplace news again now that several employees are openly talking to The TRiiBE about lawsuits filed against the utility, alleging civil rights violations, a hostile work environment and unlawful employment practices.
Tonga Harper is one. She filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in February 2024, alleging the company denied promoting her “on the basis of age, sex, color, race and gender” when she was passed over twice in 2022 for a higher position. She says she was blackballed and then retaliated against for speaking up. The suit also states that “less qualified white male co-workers” were promoted instead of her.
“There was no way I should have been locked in this position for 10 years without either making a lateral [move], at the very least, or promoted,” says Harper, a former senior electrical engineer for ComEd who lives in Chicago. “[Especially given] the number of high-profile projects that I’ve touched.”
Harper’s complaint goes on to state: “The working conditions at ComEd are permeated with discrimination, ridicule, and insult, fundamentally altering the terms and conditions of [Harper’s] employment and creating a hostile and abusive work environment.”
Other recent lawsuits and complaints use similar language and describe what they allege is a pattern of discrimination.
ComEd, when asked about these situations, did not directly respond to the detailed charges listed in Harper’s — and others — complaints, instead sending The TRiiBE the following statement: “ComEd provides an equitable and inclusive workplace for our more than 6,300 employees, and we do not tolerate anything that runs counter to our core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Harper, who was employed with ComEd for 10 years, said what happened to her comes out of the “ComEd racism playbook.” After inquiring why she didn’t get a promotion, Harper says she was advised to secure a “sponsor” in order to be promoted. She describes this aspect of company culture as unnecessary and unethical gatekeeping. ComEd did not respond to The TRiiBE’s inquiries about their promotion practices.
Harper also described a 2023 incident where she informed HR that employees of a construction firm “used racial and gender-based slurs” after she was required to remove their “unsafe and illegal electrical hookup” that was part of their project. She alleges that ComEd ignored her complaint.
“This raises serious concerns that HR is attempting to cover up incidents of racial and gender discrimination,” Harper wrote in a letter demanding her reinstatement of employment.
ComEd terminated Harper on August 13, 2024. According to a letter Harper shared with The TRiiBE, the company terminated her for violating Exelon’s (ComEd’s parent company) Code of Business Conduct. The letter does not provide details on what exactly violated the code of conduct. Harper said she believes she was let go as a form of retaliation, adding that she was on Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave at the time.
The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) didn’t comment on the specifics of this case, adding that details need to be investigated. The IDHR provided The TRiiBE with the following statement: “The incident may or may not rise to the level of a violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act, since determining whether discrimination has occurred depends on the context and facts of the case.”
ComEd is no stranger to such cases. In 2000, the utility company settled employee claims of national origin bias and discrimination for $2.5 million. The case, brought against the company by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), was on behalf of Hispanic employees who said they were denied middle management positions based on their race. In addition to financial compensation, the settlement called for ComEd to offer promotions to Hispanic workers based on their skill set.
In the 1990s, ComEd was opposed to an affirmative action amendment to a City of Chicago contract that would have guaranteed 30% of all contracts to be granted to minority and women-owned businesses. The utility company also paid $1.5 million to roughly 600 female workers in 1989 as part of a consent decree that ended a lawsuit against discrimination based on sex when the company wouldn’t hire women as laborers at its suburban power plant, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Taiwane Payne, an area operator for ComEd who lives in Merrillville, IN, said he also experienced discriminatory behavior from the company, which resulted in his filing a whistleblower complaint with the IDHR and the EEOC.
“What you not gonna do is discriminate against my group and think I’m just gonna walk by. I’ll fight you by myself,” said Payne, who was hired in 2008 as an electronic technician doing preventative maintenance. He was well prepared for his “highly technical” role, he says. But he claims his white coworkers were not and that they were paid more money despite having fewer skills.
Payne said he blew the whistle about ComEd’s color-bias practices after interviewing other Black employees about their experiences.
“I was like, enough is enough,” says Payne, who by 2018 grew so uneasy at work that he traded a managerial position for a union position.
In his lawsuit, Payne states he “was denied the same terms and conditions afforded to his coworkers who were similarly situated as himself” as a form of retaliation. He alleges that he was excluded from his usual duties of providing training and that he lost overtime hours as a result of the exclusion while his white counterparts were able to continue their training duties.
Included in Payne’s filing is a notice from the EEOC granting him a Notice of Right to Sue. The complaint states “ComEd discriminated against [Payne] as described above, including but not limited to harassing him, subjecting him to a hostile work environment and denying him overtime.”
Payne is seeking damages for lost wages and benefits and attorneys’ fees.
Gil Quiniones, the CEO of ComEd, figures into these conversations as well. Quiniones is frequently namechecked by Thomas, who says the CEO personally assured him his job was safe. Harper too complains of similar anti-Black targeting.
However, in an emailed statement to The TRiiBE, ComEd said all reductions in workforce actions are done by the book. “ComEd initiated a limited workforce reduction program last year affecting approximately 70 individuals. This decision was not made lightly and was taken only after careful consideration of all the alternatives. All impacted employees were offered a 60-day internal search period to find a different position within the company and a comprehensive severance package.”
Thomas previously said that accepting the severance package would prevent him from speaking about his experience.
Quiniones did not respond to inquiries about the situation or discrimination allegations.
Payne posits that fears of retaliation, the need to prioritize job security and not having trust in the legal process might explain why more Black employees of ComEd have not taken action against the company.
“It was like 13 African-American men and women that I had behind me [to file suit], it ballooned up to 33 and then it fizzled down because, true to form, people got scared when it was time for the rubber to meet the road,” Payne said. “Now it’s appropriate for us to start sounding off because the more attention it gets, the quicker they’re gonna settle.”
Thomas is not yet sure about filing suit.
“They play the long game and I don’t know if I can afford 37 continuances,” Thomas said, “I could probably get a lawyer and file an initial lawsuit, but what they do is they break you, so they drag you out in court, and they keep filing continuances and motions to dismiss. By the time you get to the point where your lawyers are asking for discovery, or, you know, y’all ready to take it to trial, that’s when they start talking about settling. But you got to be able to survive that.”
Paul Otubusin of the Chicago-based law firm Otubusin & Otubusin, who represents a number of people with active cases against ComEd, declined to comment on this story.
Similarly, ComEd said the following: “ComEd has an extensive process for reporting and investigating all ethics complaints. We do not comment on pending litigation.”
Harper said she was heartbroken to have to endure such discrimination at her former workplace. She linked her experience at ComEd to the historical racism and mistreatment that plagued Black people in prior decades.
“Both of my parents are from the South,” Harper said. “My mother always told me, ‘Go to school, get your education.’ I did everything she said and just [for it] to end [with] the same Jim Crow. That’s so significant.”
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