The state of Oregon is investigating complaints of racial discrimination at Daimler Trucks North America.
Some employees of color at the Portland truck manufacturing facility say they've been subjected to repeated harassment and that their complaints were ignored by supervisors.
The complaints were first reported by the Willamette Week newspaper last month.
Black employees said they were subject to racial epithets including the N word. Another said that a white coworker had threatened to drag him with a noose behind his car. The employees said supervisors at Daimler Trucks failed to take the complaints seriously.
Daimler Trucks employs more than 2,000 people in Oregon and broke ground this summer on a new North American headquarters in Portland. The company issued a statement saying it takes the allegations very seriously and will fully cooperate with the state's investigation.
This is the sixth so-called "Commissioner's Complaint" issued by Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian. The agency has the power to initiate such complaints when employees fear retaliation for speaking out publicly.