N.C. steel company, once run by Trump trade adviser, settles racial discrimination suit
WASHINGTON -- A North Carolina-based steel company once headed by a Trump administration trade adviser has agreed to pay out more than $22 million to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit involving one of its South Carolina plants.
The agreement, finalized on Feb. 15, ended litigation relating to charges of misconduct against the Nucor Company that were first revealed in 2002 — litigation that Nucor never disclosed to investors in mandatory annual reports.
Dan DiMicco — an adviser to President Donald Trump on trade issues — is a former CEO at Nucor whose tenure with the company overlapped with the years when the alleged abusive treatment of employees occurred. He is not named as a party in the lawsuit.
DiMicco, who continues to hold the title of chairman emeritus, is a member of Trump’s Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations and served as a senior trade adviser during the presidential transition period in 2016. At one point, DiMicco was in the running to be nominated for U.S. Trade Representative.
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In Huger {South Carolina}, black employees were allegedly called, among other things, “porch monkeys,” “bologna lips” and “yard apes.” They were reportedly sent emails depicting African-Americans with nooses around their necks. One employee recalled being shown an actual noose by a white co-worker with the insinuation of a threat.
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