Honda's former diversity manager sues for being fired by automaker  

By Paul Wilson
The Columbus Dispatch
(March 29, 2006) A former Honda manager in charge of diversity and ethics says the company violated her civil rights when she was fired nearly two years ago, according to a lawsuit.

Honda dismissed the allegations of Monica Ways as "totally without merit."

Ways, who is black, was the senior manager responsible for diversity and ethics at Honda corporate offices in Marysville until April 2004. That’s when Honda fired Ways "after she protested racial discrimination in employment," according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Courty by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Ways’ behalf.

The lawsuit said the actions violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees who complain about or oppose discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Ways was responsible for "auditing personnel actions and processes; and increasing diversity and integrity in reporting of diversity matters to federal agencies," according to the commission. While at Honda, she opposed conduct she deemed discriminatory on "numerous" occasions, the commission said.

In one example cited by the commission, Ways intervened on behalf of a qualified black engineering applicant who was not hired. Ways also alleged that Honda management showed a pattern of denying her workforce data and information that she needed to do her job.

Honda said it acted "entirely appropriately" in firing Ways. "Miss Ways’ claims are totally without merit," said Honda spokesman Ed Miller. "At Honda, discrimination based on race, gender, religious belief or any other factor toward any Honda associate is not tolerated."

Honda and other Japanese automakers have faced more allegations of racism in hiring practices than domestic companies, said James Rubenstein, a Miami University professor who has written books on the industry.

"The Big Three (are) associated with Detroit, which is a heavy African-American city," he said. "The Japanese carmakers, when they first came to America, they didn’t locate in Detroit. They didn’t locate in big cities. They located in rural communities that are predominantly white."

When asked why Ways was fired, Miller said the company has "certain standards with regards to senior managers," but declined to elaborate about pending litigation. Ways was a senior manager at Honda for 14 months, he said.

The commission is asking for back pay and other monetary damages, as well as Ways’ reinstatement, or "front pay in lieu of reinstatement." The comission also asked that Honda be forced to institute policies "that eradicate the effects of its past unlawful employment practices."


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