A white woman was fired from a North Carolina Hampton Inn after her employers refused to punish a black employee who allegedly hurled racial slurs at her and her co-workers for more than a year, a lawsuit claims.  

The lawsuit, filed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of at least three white employees, said the black co-worker repeatedly called Rhonda Kendrick and the other plaintiffs 'white trash,' 'white ho,' and 'white b******' from April 2017 to October 2018. 

It also claims that when Kendrick finally complained to the hotel owner about the situation, he said 'he was done with the conversation,' and she was fired, EEOC lawyers said in the lawsuit.

The EEOC filed the suit at the U.S. District Court in Statesville and is seeking damage payments for the victims from the hotel, as well as back pay for Kendrick. 

The lawsuit names Kendrick, Jennifer Sipes, and Candice Sanders as key victims of the Black employees racist actions, The Charlotte Observer reports.  

The three women, along with other white employees, were routinely harassed based on their race, with the black employee even chastising other employees of color for sitting near them, the lawsuit said. 

'I can't believe you are sitting with the white tree people,' the black housekeeper would allegedly say according to the lawsuit. 

The harassment got to the point where Kendrick would alter her schedule and other aspects of her job duties to avoid 'the housekeeper's hostility,' the suit added. 

The hotel's general manager, who is not named in the suit, was said to have heard the 'white tree people' reference but did not do anything to correct the behavior, the suit said. 

It is not clear if the black employee named in the lawsuit is still working for the Hampton Inn in Mooresville.