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Settlement Reached in Discrimination Case

By
Joanne Pilgrim

An East Hampton Town employee’s $18 million discrimination lawsuit against the town has been settled, with an award of $81,000 to be paid to the plaintiff. Jorge Kusanovic, who works for the Parks and Recreation Department, had alleged that he was discriminated against because of his race, age, and national origin. An American citizen raised in Chile, he filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2007, and then, in 2012, sued, alleging he had been “subject to a continuous pattern of harassment as a Latino pioneer in the overwhelmingly white employment of East Hampton Town.”

The complaint detailed several instances of alleged discrimination. Mr. Kusanovic was passed over for promotion, it said, “in favor of younger, white hires,” was denied sick leave, was unfairly assigned to bathroom-cleaning duties, and was transferred to a Montauk post as an “exile” after he lent support to a Latino employee who claimed she was being sexually harassed by an older, white supervisor.

John Jilnicki, a town attorney, said in an email on Tuesday that “Mr. Kusanovic’s allegations arise from events which occurred a very long time ago, predating the current administration and involving, for the most part, employees who are no longer associated with the town.”

“We firmly believe that no one associated with the town discriminated against Mr. Kusanovic,” Mr. Jilnicki wrote. “The settlement provides a means to end this litigation without the expenditure of further time and resources on either side.”

He said the $81,000 award “pales in comparison” to what Mr. Kusanovic was seeking. The town admitted no liability in the case.

Lawrence Kelly, the attorney for Mr. Kusanovic, said the case “illustrated the stark bigotry of certain high-ranking town officials in previous town administrations.”

“Hispanics working in the Parks Department were tossed out of their jobs when the jobs were viewed as paying substantial hourly wages which, according to the bigots in town positions, should have been reserved for whites,” Mr. Kelly said, adding that his client was targeted when he “stood up for the competence and proficiency of the Hispanic employees” and proposed Hispanic candidates as new hires.

Mr. Kelly called Mr. Kusanovic “someone who showed that by persistence and a good work ethic, Latinos are rightfully earning respect and their proper place in East Hampton Town.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, following an investigation of the 2007 complaint, had informed the employee that the Department of Justice would not file suit on his behalf.

 

 

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