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Ex-MVSD foreman made previous discrimination allegations
VINDICATOR EXCLUSIVE
By Jordan Cohen
MINERAL RIDGE
A Mahoning Valley Sanitary District foreman, who claimed to have received a racist Ku Klux Klan flier in his office only to resign after an independent probe of the incident, previously filed a complaint against the MVSD accusing the district of racial discrimination.
Duane Turnage, 59, of Liberty Township, a field maintenance foreman, submitted his resignation before a pre-disciplinary hearing that had been scheduled for April 25 to discuss his allegation. The district’s notice advised Turnage to provide information “regarding your current employment” and “the KKK flier issue.”
Several attempts by The Vindicator to reach Turnage, who is black, have been unsuccessful.
Two board members – Vernard Richberg and Richard Hale – were to have met with Turnage had the hearing gone forward.
“It was my understanding that [the investigator] had some information he was going to be questioned about,” Hale said. “We were advised not to take part in the investigation.”
Richberg declined to comment when contacted by the newspaper.
Atty. Matt Blair, president of the MVSD board of directors, said Wednesday that no evidence was found to substantiate Turnage’s claim.
A review of Turnage’s personnel file by The Vindicator revealed that in December 2015, Turnage accused the MVSD of discrimination in a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Ohio public employee personnel files are considered public records.
Turnage alleged he was demoted because of his race and claimed to have been the subject of a racial epithet.
In its response, the MVSD denied that Turnage was demoted and noted that he never reported the name-calling incident to his superiors. He was the only minority manager at MVSD,
“He did not identify the individual who made the statement nor identify the scenario under which it was made,” stated the response to EEOC from Atty. Thomas Wilson, the board’s legal counsel.
The EEOC has yet to rule on the complaint.
One of those superiors was Anthony Vigorito, plant operations manager, who recently was indicted on felony counts including forgery and tampering with records. Earlier this week, the board voted unanimously to change Vigorito’s status from paid leave to unpaid administrative leave.
In January, the district hired Atty. William Evans II of Akron to independently investigate Turnage’s allegation about the flier at a rate of $275 an hour. Evans is a certified polygraphist.
“I am not able to comment on this because of attorney-client confidentiality,” Evans told The Vindicator on Friday.
Evans has yet to bill the district for his time, and Wilson said the MVSD has not received the investigator’s report.
Turnage was hired by the MVSD in 2005 and promoted to foreman in 2011. His letter of resignation refers to “the gravity of my present employment status.” It states that the district will “provide a neutral or no-comment reference to any future prospective employer” who asks about his separation from employment, and that the MVSD will not contest his appeal for unemployment benefits.
His resignation is effective May 1.