Story Published:
Aug 7, 2007 at 11:42 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Aug 7, 2007 at 11:42 PM EDT
The city of Springfield is being sued. Several employees accuse the city of discrimination. Eight employees say during their years at City Hall, they've been passed over again and again, for raises and promotions. They say it's all because they're a minority.
The eight, collectively, have spent 63 years working for the city. They say, recently, morale has never been lower. "Not sure how it all came about, but we feel it's systemic and that's why we need to take this step," says one plaintiff, Gail Walls.
They're accusing the city discriminated them by passing them up for promotions, and not paying them an equal salary compared to their white colleagues. "She was moved to a lower classification and about four months later they reinstated that position, hired a Caucasian woman into that position at an 8 thousand dollar higher salary," tells attorney, Devin Moriarty.
The workers come from all areas of City Hall: from the Department of Code Enforcement, to Personnel, all the way to the Law Department, which will handle this suit. Walls speaking for the other seven, says the discrimination has been deep-seeded and has gone on for a while now. They see this as their final option. "We had no other choice as we tried to resolve this internally, but our hopes is that it will make the city a better place to work," she says.
This isn't the first time the city has dealt with these accusations. In February, the mayor's former chief of staff, Michele Webber, resigned after allegations surfaced that she made racists remarks. Earlier this week, the Mayor began sensitivity training throughout City Hall. The latest census shows, 48 percent of the city is made up of African-Americans and Latinos. According to the plaintiffs legal team, minorities represent only 10 percent of city hall.
These eight are looking to change that. Moriarty says the eight will seek compensation for the unequal pay and the passed up promotions. Mayor Ryan did not comment on this story. His office is waiting for legal documents to arrive before they respond.
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