Amex pushed White employees out, promoted Black colleagues to meet racial quotas, lawsuit alleges
Former employee alleges 'anti-racism' policies at American Express fostered 'tremendous animosity' toward White employees
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The attorney representing a former American Express manager who is suing the company for terminating him allegedly because he is White told Fox News that the credit card giant has a documented history of treating White employees as "second class citizens."
Brian Netzel, a 63-year-old White male, worked at American Express for over 10 years as an Arizona-based client manager until he was suddenly let go in 2020. Last Tuesday, Netzel filed a class-action lawsuit against the credit card giant for firing him because he is White. Netzel alleged that he and other White employees were treated with "animosity" after AMEX implemented anti-racism policies following the death of George Floyd, which created a "racially discriminatory" workplace where White workers were routinely passed up for promotions to meet misguided racial quotas.
Netzel's attorney David Pivtorak called his client's termination "unlawful" Wednesday in an appearance on "Tucker Carlson Tonight," where he accused U.S. corporations of mistreating White employees in the name of social justice after racial tensions roiled the U.S. in 2020.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}EX-AMERICAN EXPRESS EMPLOYEE SPEAKS OUT ON ‘WOKE’ CORPORATE AMERICA: ‘SHAME ON YOU’
Former American Express manager is suing the credit card giant after he believes he was terminated for being White. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
"It has been illegal since at least the 1960s, since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, but the reason that this is happening is because back in the summer of St Floyd in 2020, a lot of the corporations saw that with the BLM rioters, they were allowed to burn down entire cities with absolutely zero consequences because it was in the name of social justice," Pivtorak said. "So why wouldn’t the companies be emboldened to treat their White employees like second-class citizens and violate them on the most fundamental civil rights laws in this country when we see this precedent that was happening for several years now?"
In his complaint, Netzel alleged that White employees were treated disparately at Amex and forced to undergo trainings in which they were told to treat Black coworkers differently. Netzel pinpointed the origin of such policies at the top, recalling company town halls in which CEO Stephen Squeri reportedly engaged in "what amounted to an emotional tirade against police, against systemic racism in the U.S. and within American Express."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The allegations made about our company in the lawsuit are false and without merit," an Amex spokeswoman previously told Fox Business. "We have a longstanding commitment to living our company values which include fostering a diverse and inclusive culture where all colleagues can thrive."
"Advancement, hiring, and compensation within our company is based solely on individual qualifications, business, and leadership performance," the spokeswoman added. "Any claim to the contrary is wrong, and we do not provide any incentive for behaviors that discriminate against or favor any group of employees."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Yet Netzel's claims echo previous allegations of discrimination Amex has faced in recent years. In 2021, five current and former employees told FOX Business on condition of anonymity that the company engaged in "reverse discrimination" against White employees, barring them from promotions and steeping the workplace in the tenets of critical race theory. Amex categorically denied the accusations at the time.
American Express has been accused to pushing critical race theory-related training on employees. (Getty images)
Nick Williams, who worked at AMEX for eight years, spoke out in a June interview with Fox News Digital after he and two of his superiors, all of whom are White males, were suddenly terminated in March 2021.
Shortly after Netzel's firing, Pivtorak said he filed a formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which acts as the administrative arm of the government formed to address matters of racial discrimination in the workforce.
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"They just don’t enforce it, because it is done in the name of 'social justice;" he told Tucker, "and they think it is benign discrimination."
In an earlier interview with Fox Business, Pivtorak said he is confident that "once the truth about American Express’s virulent discrimination is exposed in court… it will be a clear warning to the rest of the country about the dangers of woke capitalism."
Fox Business' Jon Brown contributed to this report.