Mosley & Associates: Black Former Hotel Manager Files Suit Against W Hotels Alleging Wrongful Termination After Confrontation with Racist White Customer

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., July 30, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Durand Reeves, the Nightlife Manager at the W Hollywood Hotel, alleges he was fired after a white customer harassed him for almost three hours when Mr. Reeves, a black man, politely asked him to leave a VIP section reserved for comedian Michael Blackson. The customer berated Mr. Reeves with racial slurs and explicit language and even pulled out a fake "badge" in an attempt to "arrest" him.  The W Hollywood security refused to intervene and instead stood by allowing the customer to verbally assault their employee, Mr. Reeves.  Eventually, the customer (who is a resident of the W), tried to weaponize the LAPD by calling 911 on Mr. Reeves.  After being humiliatingly detained for almost 30 minutes at the hotel valet in front of customers and co-workers, the police confirmed that the white resident was the aggressor by watching the hotel video footage of the interaction.  Per LAPD's advice, Mr. Reeves decided not to press charges in hopes that he could just finish his shift.  However, the next day, the W Hollywood suspended Mr. Reeves because of his police encounter at work. A week later, the W Hollywood wrongfully terminated him. 

An excellent employee who received many promotions even while dealing with frequent racially motivated abuse on the job, Mr. Reeves suffered through racist jokes of management calling him names like "Wakanda," and unpaid commissions from his employer after dutifully reporting various health and safety violations of the lobby bar, including mold, cross-contamination of alcohol, roaches and bugs.  "What hurt the most [after everything I've been through] was being told by management that they were going to support me and that I should just 'take a few days off while they figure it out' and then to be summarily dismissed because [this clearly racist customer] decided to call the police on me.  Any other manager that was not Black would still be working at the W Hollywood today."

On July 28, 2020, Mr. Reeves filed his 48-page lawsuit against W Hollywood Hotel, HEI Hotels and Marriott.  Durand Reeves is represented by Walter Mosley and Nathalie Meza Contreras of Mosley & Associates in Los Angeles, California.  For information visit www.waltermosleyesq.com

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SOURCE Mosley & Associates

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