Ten former Denver city employees have filed appeals challenging their layoffs, according to documents obtained by The Denver Post through a public records request.
The appeals allege discrimination on the basis of a range of characteristics, including the employees’ ages, political affiliations, race, disabilities and sex.
Several said they thought they were retaliated against for speaking out against Mayor Mike Johnston.
“I believe that I was targeted for layoff as retaliation for my political affiliation, my vocalization of unethical operations … and (of) budget spending by the Mayor’s Office in relation to the state of emergency declared due to homelessness and newcomers,” wrote Amber Escobedo, a former technology services employee, in her appeal.
Escobedo was one of 169 workers the city laid off in August to help address a $200 million shortfall in next year’s budget, with hundreds more vacant positions eliminated. Employees were given 14 calendar days to appeal the decisions and had to forego their severance agreements to fight the job loss.
With all layoffs taking place the week of Aug. 18, that period has now passed.
Most of the appeals were still pending after the Career Service Hearing Office ordered all of the appellants to provide further information before officers make a final ruling. One appeal has already been dismissed after the person didn’t respond to the order in time.
Nine of the complaints included allegations of the city discriminating against older individuals because of their age.
Suzanne Morine, a former Department of Finance employee, said she felt there was sex discrimination in her agency’s layoffs.
“The most obvious proof I have of sex discrimination is a pair of collages of provocative photos of women that remained up for at least two years,” she wrote. “One of the women had blood spread all over her abdomen.”
In an attachment, Morine included photos of the collages, which mostly consisted of photos of pop stars, including one of Lady Gaga performing with fake blood. Morine wrote that those displays were taken down in recent years after she complained.
Jessica Calderon, who was already suing the city over claims of discrimination before her layoff from the Office of Social Equity and Innovation, was among the people who appealed the decision. She claimed, in part, that the city laid her off because of that litigation.
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