Jury award in the case of the DVA's descrimination against "old white men"

[Amelia]

A jury has awarded $1.8 million to a former Wisconsin veterans affairs administrator, agreeing that his boss reassigned him to a job 110 miles from home to punish him for backing a former colleague's claims that he was fired because of his race, age and sex.

Gary Wistrom, who was an assistant administrator at the state Department of Veterans Affairs veterans home in Union Grove, was awarded the compensatory and punitive damages Wednesday after a two-day trial in federal court in Madison.

....

Wistrom filed the lawsuit against former DVA Secretary Ken Black last summer. The lawsuit centers on remarks that Black made at a March 2010 meeting about purging old, white men from the agency. Black is African-American.

Three months later, Black fired Randall Nitschke, the white commandant at the Union Grove home. Nitschke filed a complaint with the state Equal Rights Division alleging Black discriminated against him based on his race and sex. Wistrom signed an affidavit supporting Nitchske, saying he attended the meeting where Black made his remarks about old white men.

Wistrom was reassigned from Union Grove to the agency's Madison headquarters days later with no explanation, according to court documents. Faced with a 216-mile round-trip commute, Wistrom, who was 60 and suffered from disabilities that made the drive painful, decided to retire. He alleged Black facilitated the transfer in retaliation for the affidavit and as a way to get rid of an older, white, disabled employee.

The state Justice Department defended Black in the case. Justice spokeswoman Dana Brueck said agency attorneys were disappointed with the verdict. Black resigned as DVA secretary in April 2011 but has denied race or age played any role in his personnel decisions.

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Read more: Jury awards former Wisconsin vets official $1.8 million | Superior Telegram | Superior, Wisconsin

 

[WillowTree]

Chalk one up for the white people.

 

[Mad Scientist]

Growing up in L.A. taught me a valuable lesson: Racism can come from any Ethnicity that has a Majority in Numbers.