Ex-KCK public works manager wins $650,000 settlement in race discrimination lawsuit

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, has agreed to pay $650,000 to settle a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by a longtime public works manager.

Kenneth Mack, 63, who is Black, sued the Unified Government in 2022, saying he was effectively made to apply to a job in the Solid Waste Management Division that he had already held for 16 years. An agreement to settle the federal lawsuit was signed Tuesday.

Mack, whose career with the Unified Government spanned 30 years, said he witnessed racist patterns whereby he and other Black employees were passed over for jobs and promotions in Public Works. His experiences with racism began “virtually from the onset of his employment,” according to the lawsuit.

Examples included being called the N-word during a Christmas party 20 years ago and an inquiry around that time when Mack claimed supervisors asked him how he could afford to live in a certain neighborhood or drive a Jaguar.

In 2020, an internal memo written by Public Works Director Jeff Fisher called for the hiring of a new Solid Waste Manager — the job Mack held at the time, according to the lawsuit.

Mack claimed he was forced to interview for his own job — a process he found embarrassing and upsetting — and later learned that someone else was hired for it. He believed Fisher intentionally pushed him out of his managerial position, alleging a pattern of mistreatment by Fisher toward Black employees.

Mack also said complaints made to other higher-ups at the time, including then-County Administrator Doug Bach, who retired in January 2022, did not help.

In March 2021, Mack says he told a supervisor of his intention to submit his two-week notice, accusing Fisher of “fostering a toxic environment” in the workplace, the lawsuit says. He said he was instructed to leave work a few days later at Fisher’s direction.

In a statement to The Star, County Administrator David Johnston said the Unified Government takes many factors into account when deciding whether to settle a case but does not comment on specific personnel matters.

“We sincerely wish Mr. Mack all the best in his future endeavors,” Johnston said.