Firings illegal, lawsuit claims - Law Firm Shellist & Lazarz, Ltd, LLP Attorneys Houston, Texas

Skip to navigation
Skip to content

Firings illegal, lawsuit claims

By John Lowman
The Facts

Published March 10, 2010

ANGLETON — Brazoria County officials will vigorously fight allegations from two former Brazoria County juvenile probation employees who claim the county violated their civil rights and fired them after they claimed a judge sexually harassed them.

Former Brazoria County Juvenile Probation chief Diana Coates and former assistant juvenile probation officer Margo Green filed a federal lawsuit March 1 against the county and former County Court at Law judge James Blackstock.

The suit claims the county’s juvenile probation board vote on Dec. 22, 2009, to terminate Coates and Green was retaliation for their pursuit of compensation in a sexual harassment case against Blackstock.

The juvenile probation board is made up of Brazoria County district and court at law judges.

The county and Blackstock’s actions violated federal sexual harassment statutes and the right to freedom of association, said Jacqueline Armstrong, attorney for Coates and Green.

The suit seeks back pay, damages and legal fees, but Armstrong said no amount has been set.

Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne said allegations against the county are “categorically false.”

“Brazoria County is a fine employer and has had a sexual harassment policy in place for several years,” she said. “We expect that policy to be followed by all of our employees, including our supervisors.”

Blackstock did not return calls seeking comment.

Coates declined comment and Green could not be reached by phone.

Brazoria County commissioners discussed the suit in closed-door session Tuesday but took no action. County Judge E.J. “Joe” King declined to comment.

“We look forward to filing a very detailed response to these allegations and we look forward to addressing them in a public forum so the truth comes out,” Yenne said.

THE ALLEGATIONS

Though employers in Texas have the right to terminate employees at will, they cannot fire someone for illegal reasons, Armstrong said. The juvenile probation board fired Coates and Green after the county investigated an allegation an employee was pressured regarding the pending federal complaint regarding Blackstock.

The federal lawsuit repeats previous allegations about Blackstock groping the women and sending them lewd messages. It also states Coates and Green were dissuaded from filing a complaint in February 2008 by Judge Jeri Lee Mills and later by a group of judges at one district judge’s home.

Mills told them the county was aware Blackstock “engaged in sexual harassment in the past,” and one of the victims of the past harassment included Mills’ former secretary, according to the suit.

“Judge Mills indicated that there would be negative consequences if action against Judge Blackstock were pursued,” the suit states.

After meeting with Mills, Coates met the judges — Mills, Ed Denman, and Randall Hufstetler — to discuss harassment allegations. They asked her if she would file a complaint with the State Judicial Conduct Commission, the suit states.

An attorney later told Coates not to file the complaint because by then the juvenile probation board knew of the allegations and it should be filing the complaint, the suit states.

Hufstetler, Denman and Mills declined to comment.

Yenne said the county does not condone sexual harassment.

“The county denies the plaintiff’s characterization as they relate to judges Mills, Denman and Hufstetler,” Yenne said.

EEOC FINDINGS

Several juvenile probation department employees, including Coates and Green, issued a complaint in 2008 accusing Blackstock of inappropriately touching them, kissing them and sending lewd photographs.

Blackstock, who was chairman of the juvenile probation board at the time, pleaded no contest in August 2008 to four counts of assault by offensive and provocative physical contact and one count of official oppression. Blackstock also resigned the day his plea was entered from the County Court at Law 3 bench, which he presided over since 1987.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission started investigating the sexual harassment claims in 2008 and issued a finding in July that county employees violated the civil rights of women who said they were sexually harassed by Blackstock.

County officials and the women met in conciliation meetings after the EEOC’s findings. Coates and Green said they sought compensation for the civil rights violation. But after an August meeting about a possible settlement, county officials told the two they would not meet with them again unless they had an attorney present, the lawsuit states.

Attorney Martin Shellist is representing three other women not part of the federal suit but who also allege sexual harassment against Blackstock.

“It’s time this matter was brought to the citizens,” Shellist said. “I’m glad it’s coming to the forefront and I’m glad to see it will be resolved.”

Successes

$730K settlement awarded in gender discrimination case
A federal court jury Friday returned a $730,000 gender discrimination judgment in favor of Surina Dixon - who was hired as women's basketball coach at Texas Southern University in March 2008 but left in a contract dispute without coaching a game.
$3.2M settlement awarded in sexual harassment case
A former Brazoria County judge has been ordered to pay more than $3 million to three women who say he sexually harassed them while he was on the bench.
$875,000 Settlement in Whistleblower suit against the City of Houston
The city council agreed to pay $875,000 to a veterinarian who successfully sued the City of Houston; after he was unfairly fired from his job at the city's animal pound for complaining of animal abuse at the kennel. The jury found him retaliated against by his superiors who fired him with prejudice.
Wage & Hour Settlement in the amount of $574,000
Our firm represented 70 current and former servers of a restaurant chain that required its servers to share a portion of their tips with the managers and owners of the restaurant.
$375,000 Jury Verdict in a Gender Discrimination suit against the Houston Police Department
The jury found a female HPD cadet was discriminated against because of her gender when she was fired from the cadet class. HPD said she violated the Cadet Code of Conduct by carrying a gun in her personal car; however there were previous cases where male cadets were only reprimanded and not terminated.
Sexual Harassment Settlement in excess of $300,000
Our firm represented several employees who were sexually harassed by a male supervisor. After obtaining a letter of determination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, our firm was able to negotiate a settlement in excess of $300,000.
Verdict in excess of $300,000 in National Origin Discrimination Case
Our firm represented a former dental professor at the University of Texas Health & Science Center who was discriminated against based on his national origin. At trial, we provided evidence of racial slurs, retaliation, and disparate wages in comparison to white professors. After two days of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the professor and awarded mental anguish damages in excess of $150,000.
$250,000 Jury Verdict in a Racial Discrimination suit against Montgomery County Sheriff's Department
The jury found the Lieutenant was demoted from a Detective to Recruiting because he is black. He was terminated six months after complaining to authorities. The jury agreed the termination was a form of retaliation and awarded him lost wages past and future.
$229,268 Jury Verdict in a Reverse Discrimination suit against the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority ("Metro")
A white male employee sued the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority ("Metro") alleging race discrimination in violation of Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code. The employee was denied a promotion to the position of Superintendent despite being the most qualified person for the position. The jury found that the interview panel was tainted by a person on the panel, the second term president of the local chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials ("COMTO"), and an organization which promotes the creation of opportunities for minorities.
Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Settlement in excess of $150,000
Our firm represented a male employee who was sexually harassed by another male employee at a construction company. We were able to open dialogue with the construction company and bring about a quick resolution for our client.
Wage & Hour Settlement in excess of $149,000
Our firm represented 16 current and former waitresses at two popular bars that required their waitresses to work off-the-clock and to share a portion of their tips with members of management. The bar also failed to pay its waitresses overtime for hours they worked in excess of 40 in a work week. Our firm was able to demonstrate that the bar's actions were in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which resulted in settlement.
Arbitration award in excess of $120,000 in a Breach of Employment Contract suit.
An employee of a Houston based company was terminated in breach of his employment contract. The company alleged that the employee had performance issues which allowed the company to terminate the employee under its "for cause" provision. Our firm was able to show that the alleged performance issues were false and that the company breached the employment agreement by terminating the employee prior to the expiration of the term of the agreement.
$115,000 Jury Verdict in a Racial Discrimination suit against the INS
The jury found the INS discriminated against a black inspector. The inspector filed a complaint with authorities in the department for being passed over for promotion. The jury determined that passengers were solicited and asked to prepare written complaints against the employee to be used against him as a basis for termination. . The jury found the INS acted with prejudice toward the inspector.
$106,000 Jury Verdict in Wrongful Termination suit against the City of Houston
The jury found the city acted with malice in firing a dog-catcher for reporting instances of animal cruelty and racial discrimination of Hispanic workers to a supervisor. Jurors concluded the city violated the state whistle-blower law, which prevents government agencies from retaliating against employees simply for reporting problems.
Wage & Hour Settlement in the amount of $100,000
We filed suit on behalf of six servers of a fine dining establishment under the Fair Labor Standards Act, arguing that the restaurant's requirement that its servers share a percentage of their tips with the restaurant's manager was in violation of federal law. The parties were able to reach resolution of the matter at mediation.
Wage & Hour Settlement in the amount of $100,000
The firm filed a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act on behalf of five current and former servers of a fine dining establishment, arguing that the restaurant violated federal law by failing to pay its servers overtime, requiring them to work off-the-clock, and requiring that its servers share a portion of their tips with the restaurant's manager on duty. After notice of the lawsuit was mailed to other current and former servers, an additional seven servers joined the lawsuit. The parties settled the case at mediation.
Wage & Hour Settlement in the amount of $95,000
An employee of a communications company was terminated when he complained to management that he was not receiving overtime pay for hours he worked in excess of 40 in a work week. The company alleged that the employee was not entitled to overtime because he was exempt under the computer professional exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act, and that the employee was terminated because he refused to sign a non-competition agreement. Our firm was able to demonstrate that the employee did not meet the duties of an exempt computer professional, which resulted in settlement of the matter.

Shellist | Lazarz | Slobin is not affiliated with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Please click on the link to contact the EEOC.

The law firm of Shellist | Lazarz | Slobin in Houston, Texas specializes in employment law. We have a nation-wide practice that represents employers and employees across the United States and throughout Texas including Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Galveston, Pasadena, Bellaire, Arcola, Baytown, Port Arthur, College Station, Brownsville, Beaumont, Orange, Vidor and McAllen.

FirmSite® by FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters business.