On January 9, 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice ("D.O.J.") filed a lawsuit against Matagorda County, Texas under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, et seq. ("Title VII") in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Texas. The D.O.J. claimed that the defendant violated Title VII by discriminating against an African American employee on the basis of race. The D.O.J. sought injunctive relief, specifically asking that the defendant be enjoined from continuing its discriminatory practices. The D.O.J. also sought compensatory damages for the employee.

The D.O.J. alleged that the defendant discriminated against an African American employee of the sheriff's department by exposing him to disparate discipline including terminating his employment. The D.O.J. further alleged that the defendant terminated the employee's employment due to his complaints to the EEOC as well as to officials in the sheriff's department about the discrimination he was suffering on the basis of his race.



On January 10, 2002, the district court (Judge Samuel B. Kent) granted defendant's motion for summary summary judgment on claims issues except the D.O.J.'s claim of retaliation against the sheriff in his official capacity.



On February 19th, 2002, the court (Judge Kent) accepted a settlement agreement in which the defendant agreed to pay the employee $7,000 to compensate for the discrimination. The defendant also agreed to refrain from taking retaliatory actions in the future if an employee complained to the EEOC or other officials about possible discrimination.



This case is closed and we have no further information.

Janani Iyengar - 11/06/2007


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