Peoples Gas Accused of Racial Hostility by Workers in Lawsuit

A Chicago-area gas utility has been hit with a proposed class action from current and former workers alleging the company subjected its Black employees to a racially hostile environment that also affected service for Black customers.

The Black employees say that Peoples Gas Light & Coke Co. enforced a different set of rules for them than for non-Black employees, according to the complaint filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. They alleged Peoples Gas disciplined them and denied them advancement more often, and assigned them to more dangerous jobs in Chicago than non-Black employees ...