A recent court filing has brought to light serious allegations of racial discrimination and retaliation within a Pennsylvania-based industrial services company. Caleb M. Marshall filed a civil complaint against MZP Industrial Services, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on August 19, 2024.
Marshall, an African-American resident of Beaver County, Pennsylvania, was employed by MZP Industrial Services as a Boilermaker/Welder starting July 7, 2024. He was assigned to work at Tenaris Koppel Tubulars Corporation in Koppel, PA. According to the complaint, Marshall was the only African-American employee at his work site and faced discriminatory treatment from his supervisor, Jon Lisk.
The lawsuit details incidents that began on August 13, 2024, when Lisk threatened to dock Marshall's pay for tardiness—a measure not applied to other non-African American employees who were also late. The following day, Lisk allegedly belittled Marshall in front of other workers over a work task while not subjecting non-African American employees to similar treatment. When Marshall confronted Lisk about his behavior and accused him of speaking "like a slave," Lisk responded dismissively and told him to "go home." Believing he had been terminated, Marshall left the site and informed Lisk that he would be reporting this incident to higher management.
Marshall subsequently contacted Jakub Kolar, CEO of MZP Industrial Services, expressing concerns about being targeted due to his race. Kolar assured him that he still had his job and asked him to document his complaint via email. Despite following these instructions and emailing Kolar later that day with detailed concerns about racial targeting by Lisk, Marshall was informed by Lisa May, the company's Safety Manager, on August 15 that he was being terminated due to the sensitivity and seriousness of his complaint.
The civil complaint accuses MZP Industrial Services of violating Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 by retaliating against Marshall for engaging in protected activity—reporting racial discrimination. The plaintiff asserts that this retaliatory termination deprived him of equal rights enjoyed by white citizens under federal law.
Marshall is seeking several forms of relief from the court: reinstatement into his position with all associated benefits including wages and seniority; compensation for lost wages with interest; front pay if reinstatement is deemed unfeasible; compensation for lost benefits such as profit sharing or pension until retirement; compensatory damages for emotional distress; punitive damages; an injunction preventing further discrimination or retaliation; coverage of litigation costs including attorney fees; and any additional relief deemed just by the court.
Representing Caleb M. Marshall are attorneys Colleen E. Ramage (PA I.D. No. 64413) and Nikki Velisaris Lykos (PA I.D. No. 204813) from Ramage Lykos LLC based in Pittsburgh, PA. The case has been assigned Case ID: 2:24-cv-01183.