Manayunk Brewing Co. hit with racial discrimination complaint

A black man who claims he was subject to constant harassment for the six years he worked for the Manayunk Brewing Company in Northwest Philadelphia has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the bar-restaurant.

Philadelphia resident Derrick Geddy, who began working for the business in 2005, claims that he was subject to a hostile work environment while working at the business.

The discrimination allegedly took the form of racially offensive and derogatory language toward the plaintiff and other black employees.

The lawsuit claims that the business’s owner, Michael Rose, made racially discriminatory comments toward Geddy on a frequent basis, and, toward the end of his employment in particular, on a weekly basis.

The alleged discrimination also came in the form of racially insensitive comments and jokes that weren’t appreciated by the plaintiff, the suit states.

Rose is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, which was filed Jan. 27 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Bensalem, Pa. attorney Ari R. Karpf.

The lawsuit states that Geddy, who worked as a line cook at the restaurant, which officially goes by the name pf Philadelphia Beer Works, Inc., was terminated in June of last year, shortly after he made his final complaint of discrimination.

The lawsuit contains counts of discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliatory discharge.

The complaint alleges that Rose is personally liable for the actions alluded to in the lawsuit because he “personally perpetuated” the racially discriminatory work environment and then terminated Geddy for speaking out and complaining about the alleged treatment.

Geddy seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, damages for pain and suffering, attorney’s fees and other legal and equitable relief.

A jury trial is being sought.

The federal case number is 2:12-cv-00439-JD.