Assistant City Attorney Debra Quinn has filed a tort claim and whistleblower complaint against the city of Vancouver for harassment, discrimination, retaliation and a hostile work environment.
Quinn’s claim outlines multiple allegations of harassment and gender discrimination, as well as personal and widespread retaliation.
The tort claim, filed with the city Sept. 20, states that since City Attorney Bronson Potter was appointed in 2014, “he has deliberately and intentionally created a hostile work environment against women, minorities and women over 40, that I find personally offensive to me as a woman, minority and person over the age of 40.”
Quinn’s first claim dates to December 2013 when Potter spoke to a female co-worker about an upcoming Christmas party. Quinn states Potter referred to women in a vulgar fashion. At another time, she states, he joked that he needed to “go put his wig on” in reference to a female employee who was fighting cancer and wore a wig.
Potter said he acknowledges an inappropriate statement he made about “anatomy” but denies making the statement about the wig.
“I regret it; have apologized for it; and have learned from the experience,” Potter said. “It was an isolated incident in a public career that spans over 25 years. It was not representative of what (I) expect from myself or others.”
Quinn also claims she faced retaliation when she complained about the comments by being denied a promotion to chief assistant city attorney, a position now held by Jonathan Young, who is also named in the tort claim.
“Because of my years of experience with the city, I was arguably the most qualified,” Quinn states in the claim.
Quinn said she was one of three applicants interviewed for the position, but ultimately Potter offered the job to Young, a white male younger than 40. Young had not applied nor interviewed for the position, she claims. Quinn said she believes she was not selected for the position because Potter wants a male successor.
Potter denies this as well. He said a panel of department heads who interviewed candidates “universally reported that Ms. Quinn did not perform well in front of the panel” and did not endorse Quinn.
A second interview panel, made up of city attorney office staff and an outside attorney, did favor Quinn, she said.
Quinn was later put on paid administrative leave for four months during the city’s investigation into discrimination and hostile work environment claims made by former assistant city attorney Suzanne Lampkin. Quinn said she was placed on leave just minutes before she was scheduled to be interviewed about Lampkin’s case.
“When I was returned to work, some of my work had been taken away, my merit pay increase was delayed and I felt retaliated against and complained of being retaliated against three separate times,” Quinn states in her claim.
Despite the investigation and lengthy leave, Quinn received no discipline and her subsequent two performance evaluations didn’t mention the wrongdoing, she says.
Quinn says her work environment caused her to lose sleep and weight, vomit and suffer anxiety for which she’s sought medical treatment.
Quinn added in the claim that she intends to file a lawsuit prior to her Nov. 20 deadline. She seeks monetary damages in an amount to be proven at trial.
Whistleblower complaint
Quinn also filed a whistleblower complaint to supplement her tort claim. A whistleblower complaint protects employees who make good-faith reports of improper governmental action.
The complaint documents 16 allegations of gender discrimination and harassment against female city staff by unnamed male staff.
These complaints include name calling, repeated harassment and discrimination based on gender.
Two of these instances have resulted in settlements by the city: Lampkin’s $100,000 settlement and that of former city procurement specialist Kimberly Armstrong for $150,000 in January 2016.
The complaint also details three allegations of retaliation.
Potter said the whistleblower complaint has been investigated by an outside law firm and “found to be ‘not sustained.’”
City Manager Eric Holmes said that as the claim concerns personnel matters, it is not subject to a whistleblower complaint.
“That is not my position,” Quinn said. “You can find a reason to not sustain allegations on a case-by-case basis, but given the magnitude of allegations of discrimination and retaliation, it seems reasonable that the root cause would be addressed to avoid continuous bleeding of tax dollars.”
List of demands
Quinn said she wrote a list of demands in November, nearly a year before she filed her two claims.
In addition to monetary damages, she seeks institutional changes to reduce discrimination and implement a focus on equity. For example, Quinn said she wants the city to implement a diversity committee with guaranteed funding of $100,000 annually for five years.
She also wants the management leadership team to consist of no more than 50 percent white males and for the city to hire an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission compliance officer with independent reporting authority and a 24-hour hotline for employees to report equity issues.
Quinn said she took her demands to Holmes in March 2016 but was brushed off.
“The city highly values a workplace that welcomes diversity and is free from harassment and discrimination,” Holmes said.
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Holmes did not comment on Quinn’s claim but said the city has conducted harassment and discrimination training on multiple occasions in the last several years.
“He’s the city manager, he determines what’s a priority and what isn’t,” she said.
Quinn added that she has talked to Holmes about implementing harassment and discrimination training at least 10 times to no avail.
She said she expects the city to take her complaints seriously and to address her concerns.
Quinn said she still wants to keep working for the city, her employer of 24 years.
“I think in today’s world if women or minorities are not challenging this behavior or calling it out, it’s going to continue,” she said. “That’s the only shot we have at trying to change society.”
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