ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis accounting technician is suing the secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, citing alleged race, age and gender discrimination.
Alice Williams filed a complaint on May 17 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against Sonny Purdue, secretary of agriculture, alleging that the defendant violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on June 18, 2015, after applying for an accountant position, she was not selected even though she met all of the education and experiential qualifications required in the vacancy announcement. The plaintiff claims that there have been no African-Americans hired or promoted to an accountant position for more than 10 years and most accountants employed are male and/or caucasian who are young and have less experience. As a result, Williams claims she suffered pain, emotional distress and loss of enjoyment of life.
The plaintiff holds Sonny Purdue responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to promote the plaintiff to an accountant position given that she was eligible for the position and failed to provide the plaintiff equal rights and treatment as an employee.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment for punitive damages, attorney's fees, costs and such other relief as the court deems just and proper.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri Case number 4:17-cv-01531