Fired black worker claims white boss put noose on him

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) -- A black former hotel worker who claims his white supervisor put a noose around his neck at an event on one of the country's oldest plantations said he was fired when he complained about it.

John Green, 62, said he was scared and embarrassed by his boss's actions at the Charleston Place Hotel function at Boone Hall Plantation in October.

Green and his attorney, Ed Brown, said a complaint was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's office in Savannah, Georgia. However, Mason Barrett, director of that office, said he would not confirm whether his office had received a complaint.

The hotel's general manager said in a statement he had not seen a complaint from the commission and that Green was fired for violating company rules. Those rules were not specified.

Green, a former event supervisor at the hotel, said his boss laughed about the incident and "he thought it was funny."

"He was actually showing another guy from another country how to make a hangman's noose," Green said. "He sneaked up from behind me and slipped the noose over my neck and began tightening the noose."

Green said he was fired about a month later when he complained to hotel managers.

He said he recorded a meeting with hotel managers after he was fired, and when he told them about the recording, Green's boss was fired.

Pippa Isbell, vice president of corporate communications for Orient-Express Hotels, which owns Charleston Place, confirmed that the supervisor was fired "as a direct result of the incident with the noose."

Hotel general manager Paul Stracey said in a statement the company has a strong policy against discrimination.

"When any employee or former employee makes a complaint claiming unlawful discrimination, that complaint is thoroughly investigated and appropriate action is taken based upon the results of that investigation," Stracey said.

Green said he hasn't been able to find another job since being fired. He worked at the hotel about 10 years, he said. Before that, he owned a seafood market on Johns Island near Charleston.

Boone Hall Plantation offers guided tours of what life was like in the 1800s and is the site of wedding receptions and other events. It is about 10 miles from Charleston.

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