Employment commission warns Home Depot of possible class action suit

It involves allegations of discrimination and creating a hostile, retaliatory work environment. The store famous for its orange aprons has now grown to be the second largest retailer in the United States. But even as Home Depot grows in size --so do its problems --especially in Colorado.After 9NEWS aired a brief story about the EEOCs investigation of Home Depot last fall, we got a number of calls and emails from dozens of current and former Home Depot employees. Many of the people who contacted us are cooperating with the EEOC investigation.Skip Clancy was fired from the Longmont Home Depot just 32 days before his fifth anniversary with the company when he was due to receive a bonus check. He says as he approached bonus time, he got assigned impossible tasks in the store."They were setting me up to fail because there was no way I could've done what needed to be done," said Clancy.Employee after former employee told us similar stories. Debra Rhodus says she was fired after complaining about the Park Meadows store being too cold in the winter. When Joe Hernandez was fired, he said the only reason he was given was that he wasn't a team player. James Bustamante says he received an Employee of the Month at the Golden Home Depot, then discovered he had write-ups in his personnel file he wasn't even told about. He quit last year."I think I was penalized for pointing out, or asking why something wasn't happening when they wouldn't give me a good explanation or good answer," said Bustamante.Home Depot has declined all interviews or comment. But the EEOC has filed at least five lawsuits against Home Depot in the past two years and the retail giant has paid out millions of dollars in settlements, including a $114 million payout in 1997 for a sex discrimination class action lawsuit.The Colorado EEOC is investigating stores throughout the state for "maintaining a hostile work environment based on gender, race and national origin," and "retaliating against employees for complaining about employment discrimination."Another former worker who wished to remain anonymous told 9NEWS he's preparing to sue Home Depot himself saying he's seen too many employees suffer from tarnished records that prevent them from getting other jobs.Business ethics professor Kevin O'Brien says the number of lawsuits and complaints against Home Depot is average for its size and certainly not unusual for a company with 300,000 employees. And unless a federal law is being violated, employers like Home Depot have great latitude to fire employees at will."Even if you have a spotless record, the employer could say, 'We're downsizing, it's nothing against you or your record - but we need to cut expenses,'" said O'Brien, a professor at the Daniels College of Business, University of Denver. "And consequently, an employer has every right to terminate any employee at any time."O'Brien says he does question why Home Depot won't respond to the mounting allegations. He says it's a "poor business practice."Some employees claim the hostile environment at Home Depot developed after the two original founders retired. Home depot has 35 stores in Colorado employing 7,000 people.If you have concerns about your employment with Home Depot, please contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Denver office at 303-866-1300.