Versace Sued After Ex-Employee Alleges Racial Discrimination

An African-American man who used to work in a Northern California Versace store is suing the couture retailer for discrimination. Suggested Reading Inside the Explosive Delineation Debate Picking Apart Black Folk’s Identity, History, and Who ‘Belongs’  Why Teyana Taylor’s Latest Role Has Folks Comparing Her to Halle Berry in ‘Monster’s Ball’ A Full Timeline of…

An African-American man who used to work in a Northern California Versace store is suing the couture retailer for discrimination.

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TMZ reports that the man alleges that a manager told him that a secret alert goes up when an African American enters the store. The code, “D410,” refers to black shirts or clothing and is stated when a black person is shopping in the high-end outlet—e.g., “We have a D410 in menswear.”

The former employee, who may or may not necessarily look black, says he responded to this information by saying, “You know that I’m African American?”

He also says that after that incident, it all went downhill, with management in the Bay Area store allegedly refusing to give him rest breaks, and firing him after just two weeks because “he hadn’t lived the luxury life.”

According to TMZ, the man is suing for unpaid wages and damages. Versace denies the allegations and has filed a request for dismissal of the suit.

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