The teacher, who's originally from India, said he was called a "loser," threatened and assaulted once by a coworker.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK - A former tennis instructor at the Princeton Racquet Club said he was fired after he tried to complain to his bosses about years of racial harassment and one assault that he'd suffered at the hands of a coworker, according to a recently filed lawsuit.
Prasad Subramanian said he worked at the racquet club from 2011 to 2015, when he was fired. During that time he was harassed by a coworker and his complaints were ignored by his bosses, Subramanian claimed in a lawsuit he filed against the club in Mercer County Superior Court this month.
Subramanian, who is originally from India, said that he has had a green card since 2011, which was the same year he was hired as a tennis instructor by the club.
Shortly after his hiring, Subramanian's coworker started up his harassment - calling Subramanian expletives, saying he was a "loser" and threatening to call immigration, the suit said.
Subramanian claimed he told the directors at the Princeton Racquet Club about the alleged harassment but they, "did nothing to investigate (Subramanian's) complaints or to remediate the hostile and discriminatory work environment," the suit said.
College teacher alleges discrimination
He left the racquet club but returned to work in 2013 and faced more verbal abuse from the same one coworker, the suit said.
That harassment escalated in 2014 when the coworker assaulted Subramanian outside of the racquet club, the suit said.
His attorney, Heidi Weintraub, said that Subramanian was not seriously injured in the assault but that he was "struck."
Subramanian said that he filed a police report and talked to the directors of the racquet club after the assault.
But the directors reprimanded him for the decision, he said. They told Subramanian, "that his employment would be terminated and he would be replaced if he did not drop the charges," the suit said.
He claims he dropped the charges out of fear but that a year later he was fired from the racquet club for "failure to properly complete time sheets," the suit said.
"You are dealing with an employer who is taking retaliatory action against employees who are standing up for their rights," his attorney Weintraub said Friday, adding that the coworker who allegedly harassed Subramanian still works at the club.
The racquet club directors did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday; a representative at the club said they had no comment.
Weintraub said that Subramanian's civil rights and right to free speech were violated by the club's alleged failure to investigate the complaints.
She added that the coworker has admitted to the assault but that he still works at the club.
Anna Merriman may be reached at amerriman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @anna_merriman Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.