Lawsuit: Black base worker faced racism, told to keep quiet

By MEAD GRUVER
Associated Press

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — A lawsuit says a Black civilian grounds-keeping and kitchen worker at Wyoming’s F.E. Warren Air Force Base was retaliated against and ultimately fired for complaining when other workers called him racial epithets. The lawsuit says the harassment began soon after Bryan Wheels was hired in 2015 and continued through 2017. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed the federal lawsuit Monday against Spokane, Washington-based Skils’kin, a contractor at the base in Cheyenne. The lawsuit alleges a supervisor told Bryan Wheels to keep quiet about the harassment. Phone messages left with Skils’kin and F.E. Warren seeking comment on the lawsuit weren’t immediately returned Thursday.