A 45-year-old Portland woman filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing Fred Meyer of racial discrimination after she said an employee called her racist slurs last year.

Melita Bullitt said in the lawsuit that she was shopping with her daughter at the grocery store’s Gateway District location Oct. 20 when she was unhappy with an employee’s customer service. When Bullitt asked the employee for her name, the worker called Bullitt and her daughter racist slurs, according to the lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

Bullitt is Native American and her daughter is African American, the lawsuit says. Bullitt is asking for a jury trial, a $1 nominal fee and for her legal fees to be reimbursed. She said the employee’s discriminatory behavior caused her to feel shocked and embarrassed.

“Fred Meyer’s behavior in this case was reckless and malicious,” attorney Michael Fuller wrote in the court filing, “and violated the common standards required of corporations by the people of Oregon.”

A Fred Meyer spokesman said the retailer does not tolerate racial discrimination of any kind. “We investigate any respective claims swiftly, so that we can take immediate action as necessary,” Jefferey Temple said in a statement.

He said the store was unable to comment on any ongoing litigation.

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

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