Former Manager Accuses County of Bias in Lawsuit

The former computer network manager for the Hall of Administration has filed a $500,000 lawsuit against the county, claiming he was unfairly demoted and harassed because of his national origin.

Huan Nguyen, who went from supervising five employees to none, said he was systematically discriminated against by three key county managers, including Assistant County Executive Officer Leo Crawford. Nguyen alleges that his supervisor directed a racial slur at him after a meeting.

A 23-year county employee, Nguyen was the highest-ranking Asian employee in the county’s information systems division before his demotion in July 1999, the lawsuit said. The county has nearly 17,000 employees, and its percentage of Asian employees mirrors the county, at about 15%, county officials said Thursday.

Nguyen said he attempted to fight his demotion through the county grievance process but found the procedure “was not fair at all.” His lawsuit contends he suffered severe emotional distress, loss of self-esteem, humiliation and loss of sleep.

County officials were unavailable for comment on the suit.