On Sept. 6, 2016, plaintiff Frederick Ejiofor, a landfill safety monitor, was terminated from his position. Ejiofor, a black man, began work as a landfill safety monitor for Riverside County in June 2012. He claimed that county employees subjected him to racial slurs since the day he started. He complained about the comments and reported the alleged instances of discrimination and harassment to his supervisor and the county on several occasions, but he claimed that the conduct escalated. Ejiofor claimed that, in December 2015, his supervisor told him to stop complaining or his peer evaluations would be negatively affected. Ejiofor also claimed that he was notified that he was being denied a raise. Ejiofor claimed that as a result of the harassing environment, he missed work from January 2016 to September 2016, and that he was ultimately fired on Sept. 6, 2016. Ejiofor sued Riverside County, alleging that the county’s actions constituted racial discrimination, harassment, retaliation and wrongful termination. Ejiofor claimed that he was denied a salary increase in retaliation for complaining about racial discrimination and harassment and that he was ultimately fired in retaliation for his complaints. Defense counsel denied that the allegations occurred., Ejiofor claimed he suffered emotional distress as a result of the alleged events. He sought recovery of lost wages as a result of his termination. He also sought recovery of damages for his emotional pain and suffering.