Jobsite Hate: Tools for Dismantling an Ugly Trend

Skanska US, Microsoft, and Balfour Beatty found themselves in legal hot water in April 2022, when construction worker Quinte Harris filed suit against them alleging employment discrimination, unlawful retaliation, wrongful termination, and negligent supervision. Harris, who formerly worked on the Microsoft campus modernization project in Redmond, Washington, claims his peers and his team lead harassed him and discriminated against him because he is Black. Harris also claims the companies he’s suing did nothing when he called their anti-hate hotline—and that they subsequently fired him when he went public with his accusations.

“We do not believe there is any factual basis for the claims,” the Skanska Balfour Beatty Joint Venture told Construction Dive’s Joe Bousquin in an email, adding that the joint venture “does not tolerate the kind of behavior described in the complaint and is committed to providing a safe, inclusive, and discrimination-free workplace.”