Diagnosing Discrimination: Taking action
An 11Alive investigative series uncovered claims of widespread discrimination at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.An unprecedented number of CDC employees came forward with details about their complaints, typically kept secret, because someone at the agency disclosed a list of nearly every employee who filed complaints over the past decade to 11Alive Investigator Andy Pierrotti.
ATLANTA – The NAACP is taking action following an 11Alive investigation.
It involves claims of widespread employee discrimination uncovered at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
On Saturday, Feb. 10 dozens of current and former CDC employees joined a NAACP forum to discuss possible action to take against the agency.
Emotions from CDC employees frustrated with discrimination reached a boiling point.
They spoke out at the meeting.
“I have been discriminated because of my race, my gender and because of my disability,” one said.
“I have stories like you would not believe…”
More than 100 employees, past and present, packed a room at the DeKalb County NAACP branch Saturday morning.
“You’ve been dealing with it for 40 years…” said Teresa Hardy, the county’s NAACP president, who helped organize the forum.
“What compelled me is that these are people who really love working at the CDC however there is other issues that is causing that they are unable to deal with,” Hardy said.
Many complained about racial bias.
Employees with disabilities who claim the agency does not provide reasonable accommodations.
“We are not served by our own public health agency,” another chimed in at the meeting that was organized in direct response to an 11Alive investigation.
In November, the 11Alive Investigators not only uncovered nearly a thousand employee discrimination complaints over the past decade, but internal reports identifying the agency knew minority sentiment was getting worse, but doing little to address the problem.