Former DPW official alleges retaliation, racial discrimination in federal lawsuit

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Baltimore’s Department of Public Works is facing new scrutiny after a former employee filed a federal lawsuit against the city, alleging she was fired for exposing racial discrimination within the agency.

The lawsuit alleges a pattern of discrimination at DPW and claims those issues may still be ongoing.

According to the federal complaint, Linda Batts was hired in 2019 as DPW’s first-ever Director of Equity. She says she was quickly met with employee complaints about working conditions at multiple DPW facilities.

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“These employees characterized their working environment as severely hostile and retaliatory– akin to a pre-emancipation, colonial plantation-type environment,” Batts said.

Batts alleges employees faced discrimination and retaliation for raising concerns. The lawsuit, announced Monday, claims Batts was fired in 2021 shortly after escalating those complaints.

Batts’ attorney Thiru Vignarajah, said the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already determined the evidence established a violation of the Civil Rights Act.

“If you hire a watchdog and that watchdog then barks, you don’t fire them,” Vignarajah said. “That’s what you brought them in for.”

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Union leaders say they support Batts and believe her allegations reflect longstanding issues within DPW.

“Everything she talked about, I have encountered,” said Clarence Thomas, vice president of AFSCME Local 44.

Vignarajah also referenced the death of Ronald Silver, a DPW employee who died of heatstroke while on the job.

“She tried to work from within the system to root out the very conditions that resulted in the death of Ronald Silver,” Vignarajah said.

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Vignarajah said the lawsuit highlights what he described as systemic problems within the department.

“This is not some anomalous supervisor with an axe to grind,” he said. “This is what we have been hearing and seeing for years.”

A spokesperson for the mayor’s office issued a brief statement, saying, “As this matter is the subject of litigation we will reserve comment for the appropriate judicial forum.”