Woman Sues City of Jackson, Alleges Pay-to-Play Scheme, Sexual Harassment
JACKSON — Mayor Tony Yarber and the City of Jackson are facing another lawsuit alleging sexual harassment from its former Equal Business Opportunity manager asserting that she “was unwittingly caught up in” a “pay-to-play” scheme for lucrative contracts alongside an Atlanta woman the mayor calls a "kingmaker." The attorney for one of the contractors on a losing side of the contentious "sludge-hauling" contract battle detailed in the lawsuit is representing Coleman in the case.
Stephanie L. Coleman of Byram filed a suit against the City of Jackson, Mayor Tony Yarber, and several unknown “John Does 1-3” alleging that she “has been subjected to sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and a sexually-hostile work place, all in violation of the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, and has been unlawfully retaliated against for refusing to participate in certain illegal activities and for refusing to make public statements about such activities.”
After Coleman went to work with the City of Jackson starting in January 2015, she became aware over time that she was “unwittingly” part of a pay-to-play scheme involving contract steering for some of the more lucrative contracts the City of Jackson has handed out over the last few years, she alleges.
#One of her roles was was as a member of the evaluation committees for the $15-million bio-solids disposal contract, the EPA consent-decree project-management contract and the 1-percent local-option project-management contract.
Read more: http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/news/2017/feb/02/woman-sues-city-jackson-alleges-pay-play-scheme-se/