Jackson County jury sides with former city employee in retaliation lawsuit

A Jackson County jury has awarded a former maintenance worker for the Kansas City Water Services Department $790,000 in damages following a nearly two-week trial.

On Feb. 6, the jury sided with Ronald E. Williams on his claims of retaliation and hostile work environment against the city, awarding Williams $286,000 in compensatory damages and $504,000 in punitive damages.

The jury returned a defense verdict for Williams’ race-discrimination claim.

Williams, who is African American, worked for the department in its Water Supply Division Plant from 2011 until he quit in February 2017. He filed suit against the city in July 2017.

In his suit, he alleged he was punished  and moved to another position in the plant in 2013 for contradicting a white electrician’s assessment of a motor in the plant.

A year later, the city offered an Industrial Motor Control Training Course to maintenance electricians in the Water Services Department, but it allowed only his white coworkers to take the course, he alleged.

When he complained, a supervisor told him another round of the course would be offered so other employees could take advantage of it, Williams alleged. He claimed the city did not offer the course a second time.

Williams alleged the city later said the course was required for a new utility electrician position, which would have been a promotion for Williams.

His suit also alleged other harassment of African American employees and preferential treatment given to white employees.

David Lunceford and Peter Gardner of the Lunceford Law Firm and Rachel Rutter of the Rutter Law Firm represented Williams at trial.

Rutter said the jury’s decision to award such a weighty punitive damages award surprised her.

“The jury actually asked during deliberations in the punitives phase if [it could award] a non-financial penalty or consequence,” she said. “I thought maybe they didn’t want to give any more money, but they wanted to see some sort of change in action or behavior.”

City spokesman Chris Hernandez said in an email that the city has started the process of appealing the verdicts for retaliation and hostile work environment.

Hernandez pointed to a recent court win for the city in a separate, unrelated lawsuit in federal court. He said a judge in December granted a motion to dismiss a discrimination suit stemming from the same division in which Williams worked.

The plaintiff in that case tried to establish the city engaged in a custom of discrimination by citing other cases against the city, Hernandez said. The judge ruled that the fact the city had been sued in other cases was not enough to show the city engaged in a broader pattern of misconduct.

“We believe that is a significant ruling because the City of Kansas City strongly values diversity and expects all employees to treat others with respect,” he said, adding that the city provides regular diversity and harassment training for all employees, as well as training for new hires, managers and supervisors.

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