Enrique Garcia, a 22-year-old man, is suing his former employer, Roofmaster in Monterey Park, California for ignoring his complaints of racial harassment. He says in his suit that his supervisor called him names, such as the n-word. He has recordings of the verbal abuse.

Garcia worked for Roofmaster as a welder while he pursued a degree in civil engineering. A few months into his employment at the company Garcia got a new supervisor and the harassment began. The supervisor called Garcia, who is Mexican, several racially offensive names including the n-word.

Using his cell phone, Garcia recorded his supervisor calling him names. He made four recordings in a day and took them to the company’s Human Resources department to file a complaint. Instead of validating his concerns, Roofmaster allegedly tried to talk Garcia out of pushing the issue.

Garcia then contacted attorney Dan Gilleon and filed a lawsuit against Roofmaster and his supervisor. The company questioned the legality of his recorded evidence, asking if he was allowed to record his supervisor’s comments in the workplace. Gilleon says that he absolutely was and that his right to capture the name calling on his device is protected under California law. Anything said out in the open which can be freely heard is not considered protected speech.

Garcia’s lawsuit states he was placed on paid administrative leave initially. He was recently moved to unpaid leave. His former employer now claims to be investigating the matter.