Former mayor’s assistant says KCK government discriminated against her, denied her jobs
An executive assistant for former Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Joe Reardon claims she was racially discriminated and retaliated against once he left office, according to a federal lawsuit.
Gwendolyn Thomas filed the lawsuit against the Unified Government Thursday in the U.S. District Court of Kansas.
A spokeswoman for the Unified Government declined to comment on the suit, citing the fact that it’s pending litigation.
According to the suit, Thomas, a Black woman who lives in Wyandotte County, was hired in August 1997 in the county’s health department. Three years later, she was promoted to the Board of Commissioner’s Office, where she worked from 2000 through 2005.
From 2005 to 2013, Thomas served as an executive assistant to Mayor Reardon. When Mayor Mark Holland took office in 2013, he chose his own executive assistant.
Outgoing Mayor Reardon ordered County Administrator Dennis Hays to find Thomas another permanent position. When Thomas met with Hays in April 2013, she expressed interest in being placed in the economics department.
Hays, however, told her “not to lock in on one position,” according to the suit. Rather she was told she would need to keep an eye out for open jobs and in the meantime take a temporary assignment. In May 2013, she was assigned to Kansas City, Kansas, Chief of Police’s Office as a temporary employee.
The new position was to last for several weeks and Hays told Thomas he would keep looking for a full-time position for her and she should also keep looking.
A few weeks later, Thomas reached out to Hays for an update. Hays told her he was retiring and she would have to meet with Doug Bach, who was taking over as county administrator.
Bach, who was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not return calls seeking comment.
In June 2013, Thomas met with Bach, who told her she would be placed in the 3-1-1 Call Center on a temporary basis and used as a floater to help other departments.
Thomas contends she was surprised and when she told Bach that she was supposed to move to a permanent position, he allegedly told her that “Hays had left it up to him and if she wanted a job, that was her only option,” according to the suit.
Thomas told Bach that she had never been treated with so much contempt. He responded by telling her that they had nothing further to discuss and asked her to leave his office. Thomas contends that Bach treated her in a disrespectful and dismissive way and did not attempt to work with her to find a full-time position because of her race.
Thomas reached out for help from former County Commissioner Chester Owens, who spoke with other commissioners. Several commissioners reached out on her behalf.
Thomas contends in her lawsuit, however, that Bach continued to discriminate against her. She claims the county wanted to keep her in a temporary position to push her out and force her to quit.
Many applications for open positions
In March 2014, she applied for a permanent position as a professional assistant within the county administrator’s office, but was not granted an interview. Although this was the same position she previously held before going to the mayor’s office, another candidate with only three years of experience was selected. In comparison, Thomas had eight years of experience.
In November 2014, Thomas applied for interim director for the board of commissioner liaison. A less qualified candidate was selected, according to her lawsuit.
Thomas filed two complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission due the denial of those positions, which she contends was based on her race and gender. The lawsuit doesn’t indicate the outcome of those complaints.
In 2016, Thomas was made a permanent employee in the building and logistics department, where she worked until May. During that time she applied for more than 10 positions, but was not hired into any of them except for a temporary position in May.
In one instance, Thomas was told in 2018 she was going to be offered a position as community engagement officer in Public Works. However in September of 2018, she was told that Bach and others on the “the Ninth Floor” stepped in and “told them that they could give the position to anyone but” Thomas.
A white man from outside of the Unified Government was hired for the position.
Thomas contends the Unified Government —through Bach and others — prevented her from moving up in the county and blackballed her, or secretly designated her as ineligible to be hired into other positions she applied for.
Thomas said in the suit she met with then-Mayor David Alvey to discuss her concerns about the way she was being treated and that she believed she was being discriminated and retaliated against by Bach.
Alvey allegedly told her that “there was nothing that he could do to help her, and that he needed to keep Mr. Bach around,” according to the suit.
Complaint to human resources
In April 2021, Thomas filed a formal grievance letter with human resources. When she met with human resource representatives in May 2021, they allegedly asked her to sign documents stating she would not discuss her treatment. They also wanted her to provide a list of those she talked to about her concerns, according to the suit.
Thomas said in the suit this made her believe that the human resources department was “more concerned with preventing her from voicing her concerns about her treatment than it was with addressing the discrimination.”
She never heard back from human resources.
Thomas contends that after filing the complaint, she continued to apply for other positions, including public information officer in May 2021. She didn’t receive the position. Instead, it was reposted a couple months later.
Thomas maintains she was more than qualified for the positions for which she applied. She also contends she is aware of other Black employees who are also having difficulty being promoted.
In May, Thomas was given a temporary position with the Unified Government and when she made a counteroffer for a higher salary she was told that was not possible because she could not make more than other program coordinators that have been in the position longer.
The next month, Thomas learned that a white employee was making significantly more money than her.
She is seeking an unspecified amount in damages due to racial discrimination and retaliation.
This story was originally published September 13, 2022 at 1:48 PM.
