County settles with ex-crewman who sued over racial name-calling, hostile work climate
Sedgwick County has reached a settlement with an ex-employee who says he was racially discriminated against by a coworker who allegedly called him “boy” and “colored guy” and sang slavery-era spirituals with his name added to the lyrics.
A lawyer for the county, Jennifer Hill, said Thursday that the claim filed by former bridge crewman David Partridge had settled for $22,000.
Partridge, a biracial Black man who worked for the county from December 2019 to August 2021, sued in federal court in January after he says he experienced “a racially hostile work environment” that included an unfair workload and racially charged name-calling by his white crew chief.
After a county investigation determined its racial discrimination policy had been violated and Partridge was promised he would not have to return to the same work crew, he was denied a different position and offered a third with a lower salary, his suit says.
Ultimately, he was fired on Aug. 2, 2021, after refusing to return to the original work crew, the lawsuit says.
As part of the settlement, “Mr. Partridge agreed not to reapply for any open jobs with the County and he was not reinstated,” Hill told The Eagle by email.
Partridge’s attorney, Sean McGivern, declined to comment.
The parties notified the judge overseeing the case of the settlement on Wednesday, a note in the court record says.
Originally, Partridge had been seeking more than $75,000 in damages and wanted a jury to hear his claims.
