University of Iowa Worker Files Discrimination Lawsuit
IOWA CITY, Iowa
A locksmith at the University of Iowa has filed a discrimination lawsuit claiming he was subjected to racially offense conduct by other employees.
James Powell Hicks, who is Black, claims in the lawsuit that co-workers made derogatory comments about Blacks, assigned him an inequitable amount of work and held him to a different standard.
Hicks filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission in December 2001. The commission ruled that there was probably cause and issued Hicks a “notice of right to sue.”
Hicks also claims the university failed to take appropriate action to end the conduct of his co-workers.
The co-workers named in the lawsuit, Kevin Puls and Lou Galante, declined comment.
Marcus Mills, a lawyer for the university, declined comment saying he hadn’t seen the lawsuit.
— Associated Press
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