Spouse of No. Castle Employee Accuses Goldberg of Racial Discrimination

The husband of a North Castle employee filed a complaint last week with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleging that he and his wife were victims of racial discrimination by recently fired Town Administrator Joan Goldberg.

Conroy Hucey, who is married to court clerk Nancy Hall, argued in a claim submitted on Dec. 24 that Goldberg bypassed him for a $10 an hour seasonal position in the town’s recreation department last April because she was looking for “a different kind of applicant” and didn’t want to hire someone “who will just end up on unemployment when the job is up.”

Hucey’s complaint charges that he was refused for the job even though Parks Foreman Don Brandes told him he was well qualified for the position and would like to hire him. A short time later two white males were hired, the complaint stated.

Hall and Hucey, a White Plains resident and an out of work maintenance man who emigrated from Jamaica in 1998, are black.

The two-page letter describing the allegations also stated that Hall, who has worked for the town for nine years, had felt uncomfortable with Goldberg since she started as North Castle’s first-ever town administrator in September 2012. It mentioned that his wife has never had a problem with anyone since she’s worked for the town.

“Not only is she loud, aggressive, hostile and threatening, but she also refuses to acknowledge my wife or even look at her,” Hucey’s complaint said of Goldberg. “In fact, after I was turned down for employment, Ms. Goldberg ignores my wife while addressing others who are standing next to or speaking with my wife. My wife believes this is because she is African-American.”

The complaint was filed four days after Goldberg was fired without cause in a controversial 3-2 town board vote, although a statement released by the board majority immediately following the vote outlined alleged incidents of misconduct by the former administrator. The outgoing contingent of Howard Arden, John Cronin and Diane DiDonato-Roth voted in favor of her termination.

When reached last weekend, Goldberg said this was the first she had heard of the discrimination charges and that she had had no previous problems with Hall. She disputed the claims regarding Hall in the complaint because during her 15 months as town administrator they didn’t work in the same building, Goldberg said.

She declined to comment on why Hucey wasn’t hired for the part-time seasonal parks position since it was a personnel matter but said there were valid reasons.

Goldberg said she found the delay of more than eight months between Hucey seeking the recreation department job and submission of his complaint highly suspicious.

“Why wasn’t something that was so serious, why did it take all these months to file that claim?” she asked.

Goldberg suggested that the complaint was a politically motivated attempt to intimidate the incoming board if they had any thoughts of rehiring her.

Incoming Supervisor Michael Schiliro could not be reached for comment on Monday regarding how the new town board would consider filling the vacant administrator’s post. Schiliro moves from councilman to supervisor and new board members Barbara DiGiacinto and Barry Reiter take over on Wednesday.

Jason Berland, the husband of comptroller Faith Berland, who had filed a harassment complaint with the town against Goldberg, said that Hall was afraid of retribution if paperwork to the EEOC been submitted while Goldberg still worked for the town. Berland said he assisted Hucey in filing his complaint.

Despite the Dec. 20 vote to terminate Goldberg, Berland said there is likely to be litigation related to the former administrator. He said his wife is expected to file a lawsuit against the town in the near future regarding her harassment claim and didn’t rule out other employees stepping forward to lodge formal complaints or initiate litigation.

Under the EEOC’s rules, an individual has 180 days to file a charge since the last occurrence of alleged discrimination, said Joseph Olivares, a public affairs specialist with the agency.

Within 10 days of the complaint being on file, the EEOC would reach out to the parties and attempt to mediate the dispute in hopes of correcting any discriminatory situations, Olivares said. It investigates each claim, after which the EEOC or the complainant can take the case into court.

Last year, the EEOC launched litigation on behalf of only 150 individuals out of about 100,000 complaints nationwide, he said.

Olivares said the EEOC does not comment on specific cases unless it sues on a complainant’s behalf. A party must file a complaint with the agency in order to sue in federal court, he said.

While there is currently the town administrator’s vacancy, it is unclear whether there may be a comptroller’s post open as well. With 2013 drawing to a close, Berland said his wife doesn’t know if she still has a job in North Castle. Appointment to the comptroller’s position coincides with each supervisor’s term. As of Sunday, Schiliro had not spoken with her, he said.

“She still has no idea whether she’s going to be the comptroller for the Schiliro administration,” Berland said.