A white Marine Corps veteran who spent nearly 15 years working in corporate security for Shell is suing the oil giant, alleging he was forced out and replaced by a less-qualified man during a DEI-fueled reorganization.
Thomas Hutt, 60, of Rusk, Texas, claims Shell booted him from his role overseeing security for the company’s US oil facilities as Shell said it was “diversifying the talent” during the January 2025 reorganization — giving his job to an employee the complaint described as a black man from Nigeria whose background was mainly in another area.
The overhaul culminated when Hutt’s supervisor presented him and two of his white colleagues who were laid off at the same time with a novelty “tear jar,” according to the lawsuit first obtained by The Post.
The complaint alleges the gift — supposedly meant to collect tears shed in grief — mocked the fired workers and reflected “deliberate indifference toward the discriminatory consequences of the reorganization.”
America First Legal, a nonprofit law firm dedicated to causes including fighting government overreach, filed suit against Shell in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas on Wednesday. The complaint, which also named the supervisor, Wayne Hunt, accuses them of discrimination and retaliation on the basis of race and national origin.
Hutt is a former anti-tank missileman who served in the Marines from 1984 to 1990 before working for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and then joining Shell in 2010, according to the complaint.
He spent roughly eight years as Shell’s US security manager, overseeing security operations across the country and working with federal, state and local authorities, the filing states.
During the reorganization, the only three white employees in the Houston-based Corporate Security Division were required to compete for their existing positions and identify possible backup roles, Hutt claims.
The two other men sued Shell last year on the same grounds. That litigation is ongoing.
Minority employees, by contrast, were allegedly permitted to remain in or move into substantially similar jobs without facing the same competition requirements, according to court documents.
The lawsuit alleges Hunt told one of the white workers that he needed to reapply because the supervisor was seeking to “diversify the talent.”
The filing seeks to connect the disputed personnel decisions to Shell’s publicly stated diversity goals, including an objective of achieving 15% ethnic-minority representation in senior management by 2027.
Shell and Hunt “openly promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’) initiatives throughout their operations and employment practices,” the complaint states.
“Defendants boast on their website that they aim to become one of the most diverse companies ‘in the world.’”
Hutt and the two other white employees filed internal discrimination complaints on Jan. 23, 2025, triggering a company investigation, according to the filing.
Just 40 days later, Shell notified Hutt that he had not been selected for any position in the reorganized department, the complaint alleges. His employment ended May 31 of last year.
The person who replaced Hutt previously worked in Shell’s Business Integrity operation in Lagos, Nigeria, according to the lawsuit. His main responsibilities there involved investigating fraud, the document said.
The complaint alleges that man lacked substantial experience in executive protection and securing corporate personnel and physical assets — duties it says were central to the position.
Hutt, meanwhile, had received years of strong performance reviews, including a 2021 assessment in which Hunt called him “the engine of Corporate Security in the USA” and praised him as the company’s “go-to” source for technical security advice.
The lawsuit also alleges Shell disregarded an internal “incumbent preference” policy that was supposed to favor employees seeking to remain in their existing or substantially similar positions.
Hutt further claims in the court docs that Hunt’s treatment of him deteriorated after he participated as a witness in a separate 2023 internal investigation that resulted in Hunt receiving a formal reprimand.
The complaint says the supervisor also replaced two other white American men before Hutt and his two co-workers’ firings.
In 2024, Hunt allegedly replaced a Houston-based regional security adviser with a man from Argentina. He also allegedly replaced a US intelligence analyst with a Mexico-based analyst and non-US citizen.
Hutt filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on March 6, 2025, and received a notice of his right to sue on June 4 of this year, according to the complaint.
He is seeking back pay, pay he would have earned had he remained on the job, compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other relief.
“We do not tolerate discrimination and strongly refute these allegations,” a Shell spokesperson told The Post.
“Our employment decisions are based on merit and performance.”
The Post has sought comment from Hunt.
