SEYMOUR — The city of Seymour is being sued in federal court by a former employee who claims that city officials retaliated against him after he reported a co-worker made racist comments.
The lawsuit, filed Sept. 8 in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis by former Seymour Department of Public Works employee Gary Ford, names the city of Seymour as the only defendant, according to court filings.
Ford, who is Black, alleges that a co-worker named Joe Williams used a racial slur and asked him “whether he was upset there was no fried chicken, watermelon or Kool-Aid for lunch,” according to the lawsuit. Ford allegedly reported the incident to the city’s human resources department.
As a result of the complaint, Ford and other city officials were required to participate in a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discrimination training class, the lawsuit states.
During the class, Williams allegedly acknowledged that he used the racial slur, claiming that his use of the word “was a joke,” according to the lawsuit. However, Williams denied making the comment about the food.
After the class, “Ford was retaliated against by other Seymour employees with intimidation and false accusations of wrongdoing, as well as frequent and uncomfortable calls to the human resources department,” the lawsuit states.
Ford claims that the alleged retaliation led him to resign on April 25, a little over a month after he was hired, in what the lawsuit says was a “constructive discharge.”
A constructive discharge is when an employee resigns because work conditions were so unbearable that “a reasonable person in the same situation would quit,” according to the Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute.
On Tuesday, the city of Seymour filed a response to the lawsuit, denying allegations that it engaged in or was aware of discrimination, retaliation or false accusations against Ford, according to court filings. The city also disputed that his resignation was a constructive discharge.
However, the city acknowledged that Ford “reported various allegations” during his tenure at the Seymour Department of Public Works and that he filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
In the court filing, the city said it was aware that Williams denied making the comment about the food, but did not know about or have enough information to admit or deny that Williams openly acknowledged using the racial slur during the discrimination class.
Ford is seeking lost wages and benefits and compensatory damages for mental anguish and other harm he says he suffered, the lawsuit states.
Ford is being represented by attorney Christopher E. Clark of Goodin Abernathy LLP in Indianapolis. The city of Seymour is being represented by attorney Whitney E. Wood of Kightlinger and Gray LLP in New Albany.
The lawsuit is currently pending in federal court. An initial pretrial conference has been scheduled for Nov. 18.
Claims made in filing a lawsuit represent only one side of the case and may be contested in court proceedings.
