Chilean immigrant Jorge Kusanovic is suing the town of East Hampton for $3M in back pay, claiming a decade of racism and unfair labor practices while employed as an assistant recreation leader. Speaking with the NY Post, Mr. Kusanovic made some pretty stunning accusations about his experience working and living in East Hampton:
· Supervisors him left notes like, "Now just why in the hell do I have to press '1' for English?"
· "When his daughter won MVP for basketball in school, she was honored in a private locker room ceremony so a fake white MVP was put in for graduation."
· He won a housing lottery only "because he has light skin, light eyes and a European-sounding last name."
· His supervisors told him "they didn't want their kids to have to work with Spanish people or grow up with a lot of Mexicans."
· He also claims that "his supervisors locked him out of his office and exiled him to a clubhouse where kids played."Pointing to one allegation in the lawsuit that says Mr. Kusanovic was barred from taking his shirt off during his lunch break, East Hampton's labor attorney called his claims "without merit and frivolous." The town of East Hampton was a little less reserved in its response to the filing. In a letter to the federal equal employment opportunity commission, they (we're assuming the town board) called Kusanovic "ineffective" as supervisor and said his complaints amount to "nothing more than a petulant tantrum." · Hamptons race rift [NY Post]