City employee says co-worker harassed him. She says he used the N-word, suits say
Employees locked in a bitter dispute over issues of race have filed two dueling lawsuits against the city of Fresno.
A supervisor in the city’s code enforcement division is suing the city, claiming he was the target of false accusations of racism. In contrast, two other employees are suing because they allege those accusations of racism are true.
Back in August, Howard Lacy, a housing program supervisor, filed suit claiming his bosses forced him to work with community revitalization specialist La-Kebbia “Kiki” Wilson, who he says repeatedly falsely accused him of racism.
Lacy, who is white, says in the suit he asked for a transfer that was never granted, and was required to work closely with Wilson.
Wilson, who is black, in October followed up with her own lawsuit. The 48-year-old says in the suit that former city employee Charles Smith told her about a number of derogatory statements made about her by Lacy.
Smith, who is white, is a co-plaintiff in Wilson’s lawsuit. According to the suit, Smith, 51, alleges Lacy told him in June 2018 to stay away from Wilson, calling her an “entitled (N-word)” and “lazy,” among other derogatory comments.
Wilson’s lawsuit also claims Lacy was known to make other racist comments about African Americans. Wilson has worked with Fresno code enforcement in the city during two separate stints since 2004. She’s seeking unspecified monetary compensation.
Wilson and Lacy are both still employed by the city.
What attorneys are saying
Mayor Lee Brand, City Manager Wilma Quan and other officials declined to comment on the lawsuit because the litigation is ongoing, according to spokesperson Mark Standriff.
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Lacy’s attorney, J. Brent Richardson, declined to comment on either lawsuit. Lacy’s lawsuit claims he suffered humiliation and emotional stress over repeatedly being falsely accused of racism. Lacy did not respond to an email from The Bee requesting comment about the allegations.
Gary Goyette, the attorney who represents Wilson and Smith, said Wilson is routinely treated different than her white co-workers “She’s doing her best to be productive, to put her head down and work,” he said. “It’s challenging.”
Goyette said Wilson attempted to report the racist comment to her superiors and was either ignored or not taken seriously. She filed a number of formal and informal complaints over the years, and has sued the city before to no avail, the attorney says.
However, Lacy’s lawsuit claims his superiors did not listen to his requests and failed to protect him from distress. The complaint filed by Lacy’s attorney is nine pages long while Wilson’s complaint is 107 pages, according to court records.
Internal investigation cleared supervisor
The city conducted an investigation for about nine months over the claims of racist behavior by the supervisor, according to Lacy’s lawsuit. Lacy was cleared of any wrongdoing, the filing says.
Lacy is also seeking an unspecified amount of money. “Fresno continues to allow Wilson to roam unsupervised in the code enforcement department, and has taken no steps to protect (Lacy) from any further unwarranted racial complaints by Wilson, or to otherwise protect (Lacy) from Wilson’s hostile behavior,” Lacy’s lawsuit says.
The court filing repeatedly stresses the city’s investigation determined the claims against Lacy were unfounded.
According to Goyette, Wilson had an emotional outburst in the office after learning about being called the N-word, and she was reprimanded for it though her boss never was disciplined.
Wilson’s reprimand did not explain what policies she allegedly violated during her outburst. “To provide zero information on how city rules and regulations were violated is mind-boggling,” Goyette said.
Smith also claimed in the lawsuit the supervisor was sending “a bunch of letters and bills” related to code enforcement in Smith’s name, though Smith had not conducted the inspections, according to the suit.
It wasn’t until he resigned in July 2018 that Smith told Wilson about the racist language used by her supervisor, the lawsuit says. The supervisor tried to justify his use of the N-word by saying he was ending the word with an “A” and not an “ER,” according to the court filing.
Wilson was laid off with several other employees in 2013 as Fresno saw budget cuts, according to the lawsuit. All of the other seven employees laid off, which included six white employees and one Hispanic employee, were rehired in subsequent years before she was, despite her time with the city, the lawsuit says.
“(Wilson) was laid off with other employees, had the most seniority, and was only brought back after her union raised hell,” Goyette said.
Fresno city employees in other departments have complained about alleged racism before.
In 2007, Fresno Police Capt. Al Maroney, who is African American, filed a discrimination complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC later recommended that former Chief Jerry Dyer and his top staff take sensitivity training.
