Twelve Black current and former Dow Chemical employees have filed individual racial discrimination lawsuits against the company in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, with the count doubling from six to twelve between October and December 2024, according to ABC12.
Almost all of the cases trace back to Dow's Midland, Michigan plant, and all twelve plaintiffs share the same Detroit-area attorney, Carla Aikens, who filed the suits over roughly 18 months, according to Atlanta Black Star. This is a coordinated wave of individual lawsuits, not a single class action, which changes what an affected employee can expect to do and recover. The sections below explain what the complaints allege, how Dow has responded, what a related appellate ruling means for severance agreements, and what a current or former Dow employee can realistically do right now.
Table of Contents
- What the lawsuits allege
- How Dow has responded
- Why a severance release can block a discrimination claim
- Is this a class action, and can more employees join?
- What a current or former Dow employee can do now
- Frequently Asked Questions
What the lawsuits allege
The complaints describe a pattern rather than a single incident. Plaintiffs allege racial slurs, being passed over for promotions, and harsher discipline than non-Black coworkers received for comparable mistakes, according to Atlanta Black Star. The claims are brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, the federal law barring race discrimination in contracts including employment, and in at least one case under Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, the state's broader anti-discrimination statute.
One plaintiff, Sushma Jones, alleged a white coworker told her she looked like Harriet Tubman. Dow's internal investigation into that complaint concluded there was a "personality clash" and found no evidence of racial bias, according to ABC12. A separate case, filed by former employee Rosetta Biggins in the Eastern District of Michigan (case No. 1:24-cv-12969), alleges that after she started at the Midland facility in July 2022, she was denied promotions, had her work sabotaged, was excluded from training, and faced discriminatory remarks about her race and gender, according to Bloomberg Law.
How Dow has responded
Dow has formally denied the allegations in its court filings. In at least one answer, the company stated, "At no time did Dow discriminate against or retaliate against Plaintiff," according to ABC12.
That denial pattern matters for how these cases will play out. Because each lawsuit is a standalone complaint rather than part of a certified class, Dow is contesting the facts case by case, and the outcome in one plaintiff's suit does not automatically decide another's.
Why a severance release can block a discrimination claim
A related ruling shows a real limit on who can bring these claims. On March 10, 2026, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for Rohm and Haas Chemical LLC, a Dow subsidiary, in *West v. Dow Chemical* (No.
25-1681). The court ruled that a signed severance release barred former employee Nakisha West's race, gender, retaliation, and hostile-work-environment claims tied to her 2023 layoff, according to the Sixth Circuit's opinion. The ruling was marked "not recommended for publication," meaning it is not binding precedent on future cases. Even so, it shows that signing a severance agreement during a layoff can extinguish a discrimination claim, even while Dow faces multiple active bias suits over the same Michigan operations, according to the Sixth Circuit's opinion.
- If you were laid off and signed a severance agreement, read the release language before assuming you can still sue over the same employment period.
- A release signed in exchange for severance pay commonly waives the right to bring discrimination claims tied to that job, even if new evidence surfaces later.
Is this a class action, and can more employees join?
No. All twelve cases are individual lawsuits filed by the same attorney, not a certified class action, according to Atlanta Black Star.
Each plaintiff pursues their own claim, with their own facts and their own potential recovery, rather than sharing a single judgment or settlement fund. No source confirms a settlement, dismissal, or trial verdict in any of the twelve Aikens-filed suits. A separate, undated financial-commentary piece claims the count has since risen to 20 suits across multiple states, but no court record supports that figure, and it should not be treated as confirmed.
What a current or former Dow employee can do now
A current or former employee who believes they experienced similar treatment at Dow has a few concrete options to weigh.
- Consult an employment attorney before signing any severance or separation agreement, given the outcome in *West v. Dow Chemical*.
- If you already signed a release, have an attorney review its exact language and the circumstances of the layoff before assuming it bars a claim.
- Claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act carry their own filing deadlines, so delaying a consultation can forfeit a claim regardless of its merits.
- Because these are individual suits, joining the existing litigation generally means filing your own case with your own attorney, not signing onto an existing one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this one big lawsuit against Dow?
No. It's twelve separate lawsuits filed by the same Detroit-area attorney, Carla Aikens, not a class action.
Has Dow settled or lost any of these cases?
No confirmed settlement, dismissal, or verdict has been reported in any of the twelve suits as of this writing.
Does signing a severance agreement end my right to sue?
It can. The Sixth Circuit upheld a severance release that barred a former Dow employee's discrimination claims in a March 2026 ruling, though that decision isn't binding precedent.