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Newspaper articles related to Law Offices of The Feldman Law Firm
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Daily News (December 23, 1995)
By Michael Coit
Water District Supervisors Lose Posts
CALABASAS -- Six supervisors with the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District have lost their jobs over racial and sexual discrimination complaints brought by four employees, attorneys said Friday.
Three male employees at the Tapia water reclamation plant are seeking $480,000 over complaints of racial and ethnic harassment and discrimination. Earlier this year, the district's board approved a $62,500 sexual discrimination settlement paid to a female employee who worked at the Rancho Las Virgenes composting plant.
"This is an explosive complaint, and the allegations are fairly shocking," said Lee Feldman, the Los Angeles attorney representing each of the four employees.
"(The district's) focus is on providing service, and they just kind of blew off the fair employment and housing laws," he contended. "It's just atrocious what was going on, what people knew about and did nothing about."
District officials completed a review earlier in December that substantiated many of the claims, according to Wayne Lemieux, the district's attorney. Having settled the sexual discrimination claim, district officials now are negotiating settlements with the three male employees over the charges of racial and ethnic harassment and discrimination.
"We're surprised, we're disappointed and we also believe a very aggressive response to this will prevent this from ever happening again," Lemieux said.
"We think we've improved the working conditions. We don't want them to leave," he noted. "They've been abused by the system, and we want to keep them."
James Colbaugh, general manger for the district, did not return calls seeking comment. Colbaugh was named general manager in April 1994 and has held supervisory positions with the district since 1976.
The district's board approved the $62,500 sexual discrimination settlement in May. A confidentiality clause prevents both sides from discussing details of the complaint.
Of the three pending complaints, two charge that supervisors harassed and African-American man and a Vietnamese man with racial slurs, blackboard cartoons mimicking ethnicity and other overt discriminatory actions. The remaining claim was filed by a Latino mn who claims he was passed over for promotions because of his race.
As a result of the district's review. Lemieux said three supervisors were fired, two did not have contracts renewed, and one resigned.
"The Board of Directors are very serious and adamant and aggressive about preventing and eliminating harassment of all types." he said.
Lemieux said employees receive training in how to recognize and prevent such workplace problems.
"We hope it's not pervasive. We're not satisfied that we have the answer to that yet," he said. "We've got people going to training all the time."
Attorneys would disclose neither the names of the workers who filed the grievances nor the supervisors who are no longer with the district.
Formed in 1965, the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District serves 62,000 residents in Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, Calabasas, Hidden Hills and unincorporated areas of western Los Angeles County.
The district has some 120 employees who work in several facilities, including the Tapia water reclamation and Rancho Las Virgenes composting plants that are the focus of the four complaints.
Each of the complaints allege a pattern and practice of discrimination and harassment over as long as five years. The complaints were filed under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, which holds employers liable for harassment by anyone in a supervisory position.
Feldman began investigating harassment within the district in March when he represented the female former employee who claimed she was not promoted because of her sex. He said the three male employees didn't file complaints until this year because they feared "nothing could be done because it went so high" among their supervisors.
The African-American employee has been with the district nearly three years. His complaint charges that a supervisor used a racial slur in addressing him and that the same supervisor and others said that his hiring was racial tokenism.
The Vietnamese employee has been with the district six years. His complaint charges that supervisors addressed him using several racial slurs, and stickers depicting the Vietnamese flag were pasted inside urinals.
The Latino employee has been with the district nearly eight years. His complaint charges that he has been denied promotions because of his race.
Feldman credited the district with investing the complaints and disciplining the six supervisors, though he contended officials took the complaints more seriously after he presented a draft lawsuit in August.
"They have made a number of changes at these plants, and things appear to have improved enormously," Feldman said.
"Now we're only dealing with the emotional distress that's been caused by all this," he noted. "They want to feel like they've been made whole."
Feldman said he wants to reach monetary settlements by mid-January.
"(District officials) already know what happened. They're going to have to admit it. If they want to litigate this, they're going to litigate over damages," he said.
Feldman said he is confident the three men could win more than $1 million in court, compared with the $480,000 they're seeking in the claims.
"They're not trying to hit the lottery here," he said. "These people like their jobs and enjoy working there. Things have improved dramatically."
Lemieux said the district would be will to face a court battle if the two sides could not reach agreement on a monetary settlement.
"It's one thing to say you're at fault in a traffic accident, and it's another thing to say you're willing to pay a couple million dollars for it," he said.
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