The Region : Disneyland Ordered to Rehire Black

A Los Angeles federal judge ruled that Disneyland engaged in racial discrimination when it fired a black carpenter 15 years ago and ordered the park to rehire him. U.S. District Judge Consuelo Marshall also ordered the park to give Wheeler Kelly, 50, of Santa Ana, benefits and back pay for the period he has been without work. “He is very delighted it went in his favor,” Kelly’s wife, Josephine, said. “He just felt he was treated wrongly.” Kelly was unavailable for comment. The judge found that Disneyland engaged in “racially discriminatory and retaliatory purposes” when it fired Kelly for insubordination for failing to wait for supervisors before inspecting a broken ride. Kelly first complained to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which took 10 years to review the allegations before advising Kelly to file his own private suit, his attorney, Stuart Herman, said.