SC woman alleges racism and retaliation from Myrtle Beach vacation company in lawsuit
A South Carolina woman is suing a Myrtle Beach-based timeshare company for discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation and breach of contract for failure to properly pay wages and bonuses.
Jasmine Ray, a Black woman, served as a multi-state general manager at Capital Vacations LLC for almost two years. In that time, Ray says she faced discriminatory treatment her white coworkers did not, retaliation when she spoke up and termination for an infraction regularly committed by other managers.
“Ms. Ray is seeking justice and trying to ensure that it doesn’t happen to anyone else,” said attorney Bonnie Hunt, who is representing Ray. “We look forward to filing, getting all those facts out in the jury trial and having a jury judge her case in a court.”
A representative for Capital Vacations declined to comment on specific incidents alleged in the complaint and told The Sun News the company couldn’t comment on ongoing legal matters.
Before pursuing the employment discrimination lawsuit in Horry County, Ray filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in May, citing a “severe and pervasive” hostile work environment.
“I was subjected to differential treatment based on my race,” the charge said. “My counterparts who were not in my protected category were not subjected to the same torment, commentary racial bias, isolation and constant hostility or discipline … When I protested the failure to properly investigate, I was terminated from my employment.”
The EEOC determined that an investigation was unnecessary and issued Ray the right to sue in June.
According to the 25-page lawsuit complaint, Ray performed all aspects of her position and was considered an exemplary employee at Capital Vacations’s Maritime Beach Club in North Myrtle Beach prior to issues with discrimination.
“When Ms. Ray was initially employed, she realized that there was differential treatment among the races by management,” the complaint says. “Ms. Ray witnessed that she was subjected to more scrutiny than other employees who were not African American. However, Ms. Ray made the decision to overlook the issues in hopes that it would improve and a fear of retaliation, humiliation, ridicule, slander and inevitable termination.”
Among the patterns of discrimination and retaliation alleged in the suit, Ray says she was excluded from decision making, denied recognition for her work, wasn’t provided opportunities for advancement, had her time card manipulated to appear she hadn’t worked after covering for coworkers and wasn’t paid her proper wages and bonuses.
According to the complaint, Ray was required to provide doctor’s notes and excuses, though other employees didn’t face the same scrutiny and when she requested time off, Ray was subjected to derogatory statements and treatment.
When Ray allegedly suffered a panic attack due to the stress of her work situation in August 2024, she required treatment in the emergency room and provided a medical excuse to put her out of work for two days. However, the lawsuit claims she faced harassment and was required to work anyway.
The suit also alleges Ray faced harassment from other employees, who provided more favorable shifts to non-Black employees, subjected Ray to microaggressions and gaslighting, inconsistently applied policies and procedures, questioned Ray’s authority and praised white employees for the work Ray performed.
Ray says when she spoke up about the alleged discrimination, she faced retaliation and termination. In January 2025 Ray was terminated “for an infraction that was committed by most general and assistant general managers regularly,” for which no other employees were disciplined, the suit says.
For emotional distress, lost wages and benefits, economic damages and loss of employment, as well as costs and fees, Ray is seeking proper pay, benefits and damages.