$1.7 Million Awarded in Racial Harassment Case
An Armenian American man who said he was forced to quit his funeral home job because he was racially harassed has been awarded $1.7 million.
Jock Vartanian, who worked as a salesman at Fresno Memorial Gardens from 1992 to 1998, claimed he was harassed for two years by a sales manager hired in 1996. Vartanian sued the funeral home, SCI-California Funeral Services.
Vartanian said he was repeatedly insulted and called names aimed at his Armenian heritage by the manager, Craig Cramer, who also allegedly took steps to force Vartanian out of the company, according to court documents.
SCI’s attorney, Steve Gurnee, called the award by an arbitrator “stunning and outrageous.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
