Former Augusta EEO director sues city

Former Augusta Equal Employment Opportunity Coordinator Jacqueline Humphey has filed a federal lawsuit accusing city officials of firing her for doing her job of protecting workers’ rights.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court last week, comes more than four years since the Augusta Commission voted 8-0 in 2015 to terminate the job she had held since 2009 with little explanation.

Humphrey’s lawsuit contends, among other things, that city officials took no action when the city recreation director instructed his staff not to participate in a 2014 EEO investigation she was conducting. The director in 2014 was Bob Levine.

A few days later, the commission changed her title from “director” to “coordinator,” which impacted her retirement vesting, it said.

Humphrey's title was in dispute throughout her tenure, as Augusta's Consolidation Act calls for a "director" to oversee EEO as well as equal opportunity in the awarding of city contracts. A business opportunity coordinator, Yvonne Gentry, remained on the payroll years later, however, and her title varied on city documents.

In early 2015, Humphrey said she investigated and substantiated a city equal employment opportunity complaint by utilities supervisor James Henry, and forwarded her findings to the federal Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.

“During a commission meeting, the mayor informed plaintiff that Henry refused to settle his case because the EEOC investigator substantiated the claim because of plaintiff’s findings,” the suit said. The commission “reprimanded plaintiff verbally for her findings” at the meeting, it said.

In March of that year, Humphrey again substantiated an EEO complaint filed by another employee, then-property appraiser Lori Howard, and provided her findings to the commission the same day, the suit said.

Five days later in a called meeting, the commission voted to fire Humphrey, giving no reason and without following city policies and procedures, it said.

Humphrey filed a complaint with the EEOC that the city retaliated against her for engaging in a protected activity in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects employees from discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex and religion. She received a notice of her right to sue this past March.

“You are hereby reminded that federal law prohibits retaliation against persons who have exercised their right to inquire or complain about matters they believe may violate the law,” Bernice Williams-Kimbrough, director of the Atlanta EEO office, wrote the city.

Several Augusta commissioners reached Tuesday said they were unaware of the lawsuit, which calls for a jury trial, damages and other relief. Mayor Hardie Davis did not return a message seeking comment.

Humphrey, a retired veteran, ruffled feathers during her tenure with the city and the office she oversaw was folded into a new city Compliance department, which oversees EEO, disadvantaged business opportunities and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In 2014, Humphrey angered the commission when she filed a complaint with the Georgia Bar Association against then-city General Counsel Andrew MacKenzie without seeking commission approval, according to The Chronicle’s archives.

Her investigations led to city employees receiving settlements and former Commissioner Bill Lockett said in 2015 some of his colleagues believed she was more concerned about employee welfare than that of the consolidated government. Lockett, who opposed her termination, blamed the commission for failing to give Humphrey any direction.

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