Retailer Big 5 to pay $165,000 to former Whidbey Island employee over racial slurs

SEATTLE (AP) — A man who endured death threats and racial slurs while working in a Big 5 store in Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island will receive $165,000 in a settlement that also requires the sporting goods chain to train employees on preventing racial harassment and retaliation.

The Seattle Times reports the settlement was announced Tuesday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The commission's Seattle office filed a lawsuit last year alleging management trainee Robert Sanders was subjected to ongoing racial harassment and death threats in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Sanders was the only African-American employee at the store.

Sanders took leave from work and was eventually fired.

The El Segundo, California-based retail chain didn't respond to a request for comment.