Upper Midwest Law Center files lawsuits over CRT in workplace

Can a company discriminate against their employees based on the color of their skin in 2021? One of Minnesota’s most storied corporations, Honeywell, Inc. believes it can.

Honeywell fired Chuck Vavra this summer for refusing to buy into a company-sponsored CRT narrative that accused this mild-mannered engineer of being part of an oppressor class, simply because he is white. Vavra pushed back against this racist accusation and another narrative that portrayed his black colleagues as victims who can’t act in their own best interest.

That sounds too familiar for those of us following the divisiveness occurring in Minnesota schools, as teachers classify students by their skin color and make broad generalizations based on their oppressor/victim status.

A lawsuit being brought by our friends at the Upper Midwest Law Center on behalf of Vavra and another employee will test a simple legal theory: can you be treated differently in the workforce based on the color of your skin? Their press release is below.

Upper Midwest Law Center Challenges Racist Critical Race Theory Indoctrination at Honeywell and Anaplan

(Golden Valley, MN) Chuck Vavra was an engineer at Honeywell and Justin Filip was a Product Support Analyst at Anaplan, a large business software provider. Then, Honeywell fired Vavra because he objected to being forced to take racist, mandatory Critical Race Theory (CRT) based so-called “training.” Anaplan fired Filip because he objected to the C-Suite’s imposition of the racist viewpoint that all whites are inherently privileged, racist, evil oppressors, while blacks were falsely characterized as victims, good, but intrinsically unable to successfully lead their lives due to white racism.

UMLC represents both Vavra and Filip in lawsuits in federal court under the federal and state civil rights and wrongful discharge laws. The Filip case was filed on September 20th and Vavra’s case will be filed as soon as the EEOC confirms his charge’s withdrawal. Vavra and Filip are demanding back pay and reinstatement or a damages equivalent and, most importantly, an end to the CRT “training” and the hostile employment environment, retaliation and differential treatment by the employers inherent in such “training.” These employers must never impose this vile racist ideology on employees ever again.

Plaintiff Chuck Vavra said, “We were terminated because we objected to our employers’ attempt to impose an ideology on us and other employees that demonized Whites as all-powerful bad oppressors and demeaned Blacks as ‘victims’ without the ability to effectively act in their own interest. It’s as though Blacks were forced to submit to an ideology saying they were inferior and Whites were superior. That would be a violation of the civil rights laws and so is the reverse racism inherent in this disgusting CRT ‘training’.”

Vavra and Filip were successful employees and were polite and respectful in their stated disagreement with the racist CRT-driven ideologies being forced on employees. They simply said that it was improper and a violation of civil rights laws for “training” or official company stances to demonize them for their white race and demean blacks by characterizing them as unable to function in society due to white racism. Unlike training in actual anti-discrimination and harassment law and best practices, which UMLC lawyers have conducted for legal compliance, this CRT-driven training is not for legal compliance, nor is it related to Chuck or Justin’s jobs, or the employer businesses in any way. It is purely ideological and political, in the worst sense, and wrong.

Doug Seaton, President of Upper Midwest Law Center and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs, said, “UMLC is proud to represent Chuck Vavra and Justin Filip, who should not have to endure racist propaganda in the workplace or be terminated for objecting to it. Honeywell’s and Anaplan’s actions are illegal and should horrify Minnesotans. We will fight to end this CRT propaganda in private sector work places, just as we have in Minnesota’s schools and government agencies.”

About Upper Midwest Law Center

Upper Midwest Law Center is a non-profit, public interest law firm with the mission to initiate pro-freedom litigation to protect against constitutional violations, government overreach, special interest agendas and public union corruption and abuses. UMLC is a 501(c)(3) organization.