A former employee has filed a lawsuit against major environmental services company Clean Harbors Environmental Services, alleging a series of discriminatory and retaliatory actions that led to his wrongful termination.
According to the complaint filed by plaintiff Marc Cheatham, he was subjected to a hostile work environment characterized by racial discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation during his employment with Clean Harbors. The lawsuit claims that these actions were driven by animus toward Cheatham's race, color, religion, sex, arrest, and conviction status. The complaint outlines specific incidents where Cheatham was physically threatened by supervisors and coworkers and subjected to inappropriate comments and behaviors. In one instance, one supervisor allegedly attempted to injure him by yanking metal from his hands while others made racially charged remarks about his dreadlocked hair.
Cheatham also reported being sexually harassed by coworkers who made unwanted physical contact and inappropriate comments. Despite reporting these incidents to his supervisors at Clean Harbors, no action was taken to address or prevent further harassment. Instead, Cheatham faced retaliation after refusing to participate in illegal activities requested by his supervisors—such as falsifying driving logs in violation of Department of Transportation regulations—which culminated in his termination on May 25, 2023.
The plaintiff seeks substantial monetary relief for economic losses and emotional distress resulting from the alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §1981, and New York State Human Rights Law §296. He is demanding compensatory damages exceeding $5 million per cause of action, along with attorney’s fees and costs. Additionally, Cheatham requests injunctive relief requiring Clean Harbors to correct past violations and prevent future ones.
Cheatham is represented by the Law Offices of Frederick K. Brewington. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under Case ID: 2:25-cv-01516.