PG&E, Contractors Can Make Black Worker Arbitrate Bias Claims

A Black man who says he was discriminated against and harassed while inspecting Pacific Gas & Electric Co. transmission lines in California must arbitrate his claims.

The independent contractor agreement Dexter Harris signed with Energy Resourcing America Inc. included an arbitration provision, which PG&E and Worley Group Inc. can also enforce, the US District Court for the Northern District of California said Wednesday. Harris sued all three entities under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and California Fair Employment and Housing Act, alleging they were his joint employers, the court said.

According to Harris, he was the only ...