Shell ousted white security staffers for ‘weaker’ diverse hires in ‘discriminatory’ purge: lawsuit

Oil giant Shell USA allegedly ousted all the white employees from its corporate security team in Houston — replacing them with less qualified people of color in what amounted to a discriminatory purge, according to a bombshell lawsuit.

Kevin Taylor and Gulf War veteran Michelle Romak, who are both white, claim they were booted from their jobs earlier this year despite each having more than a decade of relevant experience at Shell, according to the lawsuit filed in the US Southern District of Texas on Tuesday.

They are suing Shell and Wayne Hunt, a regional security manager – alleging they participated in a discriminatory restructuring under DEI mandates that violate civil rights laws.

Shell did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.

In January, Hunt announced an upcoming reorganization and required all of the white employees on the team to reapply for their current roles – though non-white team members were not required to submit applications, according to the lawsuit.

At the time, Hunt told Taylor that he had to resubmit for his current job because “others had expressed interest” and Shell “was looking to diversify the talent,” the suit alleged.

High-level security roles were then given to a Hispanic woman who had a background as an administrative assistant and a black man with no background in protecting people or assets, according to the lawsuit.

A Hispanic contractor for Shell – whose contract had previously been in the process of being terminated for poor performance – also won a role on the team, along with a Hispanic woman without US citizenship, the lawsuit said.

When it was revealed that she was ineligible due to her citizenship, the woman was given a high-level role at Shell in Mexico, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit accuses Shell of maintaining illegal racial hiring and promotion quotas in the US – despite actions taken by the Trump administration to squash DEI programs.

On its website, the oil company boasts that it is “working to become one of the most diverse and inclusive organizations in the world.”

It has a Global Council for Race consisting of senior executives that “aims to advance diversity in our workforce so that it better reflects communities in which we work.”

Taylor was stripped of his role and forced to relocate to the East Coast, while Romak and Thomas Hutt – a white man and US veteran who worked at Shell for 15 years – were fired, the suit claims.

Hunt, who managed the security team, appeared to mock Romak and Hutt’s firings – giving them each a “tear jar,” according to the lawsuit.

“This is evidence of conduct that is callous, willful and wanton,” the lawsuit said.

It became clear that these promoted employees had “objectively weaker qualifications” – with at least one asking Taylor for help with their new job, according to the lawsuit.

Taylor was ousted from his role in Houston – where he was replaced with Ana Chevez, a Hispanic woman – and relocated to a security advisor position in the east region, which had been his third of four choices, the suit said.

But Taylor has repeatedly been asked to complete tasks belonging to Chevez – like guarding the CEO – because “it was well known that she was not competent to fulfill those duties,” according to the lawsuit.

Taylor was passed over for his second-choice position in the west region, which went to Hector Erazo, a Hispanic man and contractor for Shell, the suit said.

Hutt – who supervised Taylor and Romak before he was fired – said both were more qualified than Erazo, whose contract he had been in the process of terminating in 2024 for poor performance, according to the lawsuit.

Since taking on the role in August, Erazo has asked for Taylor’s help, claiming he has never completed a security assessment or security plan for executive protection – even admitting that he has never seen one, according to the lawsuit.

The Post was unable to reach Chevez and Erazo for comment.

“What our clients experienced should alarm every American,” Juli Haller, attorney for America First Legal, which filed the suit on behalf of Taylor and Romak, said in a statement.

“If a corporation can openly discriminate against employees because of the color of their skin — under the guise of DEI — then no one’s rights are safe.”

Taylor and Romak are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.