IBM subsidiary Red Hat openly and illegally discriminated against a white employee who was on the road to becoming a top executive, alleges a lawsuit filed by America First Legal (AFL).
Though Allan Kingsley Wood never received anything but stellar job performance reviews, the company fired him pursuant to its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Filed with the U.S. District Court in Idaho, the lawsuit alleges that IBM fired Wood because he is a white man. As well, he openly opposed DEI hiring and wanted the company to hire new employees for their merit and talent.
The lawsuit strongly suggests that IBM is a boiling cauldron of openly expressed misandry and anti-white racism.
The Lawsuit
Noting that Wood was a “loyal, dedicated, and skilled employee of eight years” who was also an “exemplary” worker “on a fast track to becoming an executive,” the 37-page lawsuit alleges that “he was subjected to discriminatory treatment and terminated because of Red Hat’s DEI policies.”
Wood began working at Red Hat in 2015. He worked in Singapore and requested a transfer to the United States during the China Virus Hoaxdemic. He received a religious exemption from the company mandate that required employees receive the Clot Shot, but was required to work from home in Idaho.
On October 1, 2021, he became senior director of the North American Office of Technology — Technical Sales, West Region, North America. He “never received a negative review, was highly lauded, had a stellar record, and was on a path to become one of the top executives at Red Hat,” the lawsuit explains.
But then came the anti-white DEI reign of terror, spearheaded by a new DEI CEO.
“Red Hat has made it clear that it is in favor of discriminatory policies that the Supreme Court has found unconstitutional,” the lawsuit says:
In the case of Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. Harvard, decided together with SFFA v. University of North Carolina, Red Hat, along with 70 other corporations, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in support of affirmative action. In an August 2, 2022, email, Red Hat boasted of the company’s involvement in this effort to its employees, claiming that Red Hat was “proud to join this effort to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to continue to allow colleges to consider race, as one of many factors, in admissions so that colleges can produce a diverse pipeline of graduates.”
Although SCOTUS ruled against the universities and banned their openly anti-white, anti-Asian discrimination, Red Hat planned to continue its discrimination:
On several occasions, managers and executives at Red Hat in comments to Mr. Wood and other employees expressed their dismay at the lack of diversity in the workforce and their desire to achieve certain ratios in the workforce based on race and gender.
The execs said that DEI would influence hiring, which Wood opposed. Instead, he said, employees should be hired for their “merit and skill rather than other immutable characteristics.”
Managers disagreed, and “targeted, marked, and labeled [Wood] as an undesirable employee,” the lawsuit alleges.
Indeed, “Red Hat made express statements, both vocally and in writing at company events, that were derogatory towards white individuals and presented an anti-white agenda,” the lawsuit continues:
Red Hat also remarked on the low number of women employed and expressed anti-male rhetoric. Red Hat made it clear that it was going to implement heightened DEI policies, with the sole intent of increasing diversity.
At a kickoff event in Texas, Red Hat announced its “Bold DEI Goals.” These goals included quotas. Red Hat sought to remake its workforce demographic, seeking to reach 30% women globally and 30% associates of color in the United States by 2028.
On July 17, 2023, Wood’s manager told him “that his role was being eliminated, following several months of discriminatory treatment.” He was to be fired Wood along with 20 other white men.
Prior to his official termination, on July 24 he had been granted leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for his ill wife. Although FMLA entitled Wood to three months of leave, the company terminated it on July 28. They closed his FMLA claim on August 20, then suspended his health insurance coverage.
They officially fired him on September 20.
Why They Fired Him
The lawsuit alleges that Red Hat fired Wood not only because he is a white man, but also because he complained about discrimination and opposed the company DEI mandates. Voicing those complaints and opposition is a “protected activity.”
The lawsuit’s first two causes of action allege that Red Hat violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, or national origin.
The third cause also alleges a violation of Title VII, which forbids retaliating against an employee who complains about and opposes illegal discrimination.
The fourth cause alleges a violation of 42 U.S. Code Section 1981, which protects the right to enforce contracts and sue when they are violated. “In its quest to achieve its DEI goals, Red Hat intentionally discriminated against Mr. Wood on the basis of his race,” the cause alleges. And because Red Hat fired 21 white men, the company “clearly acted with the intent to discriminate on the basis of race.”
The fifth cause accuses the company of violating FMLA.
Wood seeks unspecified damages.
