A Milwaukee woman has filed a federal lawsuit against Waukesha County alleging hiring discrimination based on race when she applied for a job four years ago.
The suit comes after the U.S. Justice Department decided not to intervene on her behalf.
Bernadine E. Matthews is seeking compensatory and punitive damages in excess of $500,000, according to the lawsuit filed by her attorneys in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee on Friday.
In July 2009, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found reasonable cause to think African-American applicants as a class, including Matthews, were discriminated against when they were excluded from consideration for hire by the county.
Conciliation efforts failed, according to the suit, and the Justice Department, declining to take action, told Matthews that she had 90 days - until Monday - to file a suit.
Waukesha County Corporation Counsel Thomas P. Farley declined to comment.
Matthews had applied for a job as an economic support specialist and economic support supervisor in January 2006 and met the minimum qualifications, county officials confirmed. She holds an associate's degree in applied science/social work, a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and a certificate in human resource management. She worked 19 years as a customer and commercial service representative for Wisconsin Gas Co.
According to the complaint, Waukesha County sent her a letter saying she didn't meet training and experience requirements and was rejected for the jobs. It alleges that when she called Waukesha County's employment division, she was told by staff that the positions had been filled when they had not been, and that she was discouraged from leaving her application on file for future positions that opened up.
Among more than 130 applicants, well-qualified African-American job-seekers were excluded, the complaint says.
It also objects to Waukesha County's defense of its racial hiring record, which favorably compares its percentage of African-American employees with the percentage living in Waukesha County.
"This standard constitutes an unreasonable and biased selection of the relevant geographical labor market, which includes Milwaukee, and thus results in gross under-representation of African-Americans" in the employ of Waukesha County, the suit says.