The federal government has filed suit against Floyd's Equipment, alleging the Sikeston-based construction company retaliated against a backhoe operator who complained about a foreman's use of racial slurs — first transferring him, and then firing him.In the lawsuit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, charges that a white foreman named Leonard "Butch" Nelson repeatedly used the n-word while on a job site. But when a biracial employee named Rodney Woodall complained to a supervisor about Nelson's use of the slur, the supervisor failed even to make a note about the issue.
The next day, Nelson sought out Woodall.…