ST. LOUIS • A former employee of a Maryland Heights collection agency has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit that claims that a supervisor used a disparaging term for black employees and that white employees kept an insulting notebook of employees' so-called "black speech" that they sold out of the office for $5.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court by Deidre Humphrey, names Vision Financial Corp. and office manager David Hensley. The suit says Hensley told racist jokes, made racist comments and speculated about the sex lives of the women.

Hensley also failed to take prompt action against the book compiling "black speech," which featured a black employee's picture on the cover, the suit says.

When Humphrey complained to one of Hensley's superiors, she was fired for an offense for which white male employees had never been punished.

Humphrey worked at the office from Aug. 31, 2009 until she was terminated on July 22, 2010, the suit says.

A Vision employee referred a reporter to the company's lawyer, who could not be immediately reached for comment.