Clerk Accuses County of Job Discrimination, Harassment : Lawsuit: A black employee alleges that she was passed over for a promotion in 1985 because of her race, then suffered retaliation after filing a complaint. Personnel director denies the charges.

A clerk has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Ventura County and its director of personnel, saying she was harassed and denied a promotion because she is black.

Myra Kelley, 46, a 17-year county employee, filed the suit in U.S. District Court last month, charging that she did not get a 1985 job promotion because of her race and that, when she complained, her supervisors retaliated.

The suit also charges that county personnel Director Ronald W. Komers made racial slurs against Kelley, asking her “if she were dirty or clean,” and giving her “unreasonable work loads,” then joking about it.

In an interview, Komers rebutted the charges. “Obviously, I deny that there’s been any discrimination or harassment or retaliation,” Komers said.

He declined to comment on specific allegations in the lawsuit.

Kelley, a senior employment services clerk at the Ventura County Government Center, initially applied for a promotion in 1985. When she did not get the job, she filed a complaint with the county’s Civil Service Commission, which found no evidence of discrimination.

Kelley later filed a separate complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charging that her supervisors took retaliatory action against her because of her complaint.

Earlier this year, the EEOC ruled that Kelley had been disciplined and denied promotion because of her complaint. EEOC and county officials met in an attempt to resolve the dispute, but those efforts were unsuccessful. Kelley filed the lawsuit Aug. 2.

In the suit, Kelley charges that after her complaint, county officials retaliated by reducing her salary and forcing her to undergo tests that were not required of other employees, even though she ranked first on a promotion eligibility list.

Conditions on the job caused Kelley “severe and grievous mental and emotional harm for which (she) is currently seeking psychiatric medical attention,” the suit says.

Kelley, who is on stress disability leave, is seeking a promotion, back pay and benefits, as well as unspecified punitive damages.

The county “would have saved the taxpayers a lot of money just by agreeing to these things,” said Kelley’s attorney, Ed K. Bassey. “But they did not want to settle or negotiate.”

However, County Counsel James L. McBride said the suit is without merit because it is based on “broad allegations of retaliation, but there are no facts to show there was retaliation.”

“I don’t think there is widespread discrimination in the county,” McBride said. “Once in a while things come up, and occasionally people say or do things they shouldn’t.” But county officials try to take immediate action against employees who commit those infractions, he said.

The county also has ongoing employee training programs in an effort to prevent discrimination based on race, age or sex, McBride said.

But in an interview, Kelley said that discrimination against blacks who work for the county is common.

“It’s not just me,” Kelley said. “Other blacks have the same problems. They can’t get promoted, and they can’t get out of bad working conditions. It’s a countywide problem, for all blacks working in this county.”

Kelley cited allegations of racial discrimination by 11 black sheriff’s deputies who filed a $7.5-million claim against the county earlier this year. That claim accused Sheriff’s Department supervisors of discriminating against blacks in hiring, promotions, performance evaluations and other personnel matters.

In April, a former sheriff’s deputy filed a racial discrimination suit against the Sheriff’s Department in U.S. District Court.

About 3.5% of the county’s 6,700 employees are black, Komers said. In the personnel division, where Kelley works, there are five blacks among 62 employees, or about 8%, he said. Three of the five are in professional positions, he said.

“We’re very proud of our representation,” Komers said.