Local News in Brief : County Worker Gets Hearing on Bias

The Civil Service Commission agreed Wednesday to set a hearing date for a Los Angeles County worker who contends he was denied a promotion after accusing his supervisor of soliciting beer in exchange for job favors among employees.

The commission granted a hearing to Rudy Solano, 30, of East Los Angeles, who says he was forced to clean toilets after accusations he brought against Joe Bonilla, among them that Bonilla ordered employees who wanted overtime work to buy him a case of Corona beer while on county time. Solano also accused Bonilla of racial discrimination.

In his complaint, Solano, a Latino, says that after he aired his allegations, he was passed over for promotion as a bridge maintenance worker in favor of a white friend of Bonilla’s and reassigned to department headquarters, where he “pushed brooms and cleaned toilets for the executives.”

A representative of the Public Works Department told the commission the allegations of racial discrimination were “totally unfounded,” and a department investigation turned up no misconduct on the part of Bonilla.