Allegations of severe racial harassment and discrimination at a Detroit-area facility have led to a lawsuit seeking damages and declaratory relief against a major management services company and its affiliate. The legal action claims that persistent racially hostile conduct created intolerable working conditions for an African American woman employed as a site supervisor.
The complaint was filed by LeRoya Hazard in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on April 17, 2026. Named as defendants are SBM Management Services, LP; SBM Site Services, LLC; and Melanie Swords, who served as Hazard’s direct supervisor during her employment.
According to the filing, Hazard began working for SBM in December 2022 as a custodial supervisor before being rehired in May 2024 as a site supervisor. She alleges that shortly after her return to the company she was subjected to “severe and pervasive racial harassment and discrimination” by Swords, who was the site manager at the facility. The complaint outlines specific incidents including repeated use of racial slurs such as “n**gers,” “porch monkeys,” and “negro,” along with derogatory references to Black employees’ culture. It also describes the display of racially offensive imagery depicting individuals in blackface shown by Swords during Hazard’s first week back on the job.
Hazard states that she reported these incidents multiple times to SBM’s Human Resources department but claims that “Defendant SBM failed to take prompt, adequate, or effective remedial action.” Instead, according to the complaint, Swords was only temporarily removed from her position before being returned to the same worksite where Hazard continued to work. The suit further alleges that when other managers were unavailable or on vacation, Swords would be brought back into direct contact with Hazard despite explicit requests not to be around her alleged harasser.
The complaint details how Human Resources responses were slow—sometimes taking up to one month—and ultimately did not resolve Hazard’s concerns about ongoing harassment. In one instance cited in court documents, white team lead Tamara Magill reportedly witnessed some of Swords’ comments and eventually resigned due to what she described as an intolerable environment.
Hazard asserts that these actions resulted in her constructive discharge on March 6, 2025: “Plaintiff’s working conditions became so intolerable that a reasonable person in Plaintiff’s position would have felt compelled to resign.” She contends that this resignation should not be considered voluntary because it was directly caused by Defendants’ conduct.
The lawsuit brings six counts against all defendants under both federal law (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) and state law (Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act). These include claims for race discrimination through disparate treatment; creation of a hostile work environment; retaliation for reporting discriminatory behavior; and violations specifically naming individual liability for aiding or abetting discriminatory practices.
Hazard is seeking compensatory damages including back pay, loss of income and benefits, emotional distress damages such as humiliation and mental anguish, attorney fees, costs, interest, punitive or exemplary damages where allowed by law, as well as any other relief deemed just by the court. She has demanded a jury trial on all issues raised in her case.
Attorneys representing LeRoya Hazard are Shereef H. Akeel (P54345), Hasan Kaakarli (P81099), and Emad R. Hamadeh (P86849) from Akeel & Valentine PLC based in Troy, Michigan. The case is identified as Case No. 26-11259.
Source: 226cv11259_Leroya_Hazard_v_SBM_Management_Complaint_Eastern_District_of_Michigan.pdf
