A New Canaan Public Schools building manager is suing the district and town, saying he was discriminated against when placed on administrative leave following a confrontation at work two-plus years ago.
The plaintiff, David Reyes, also has been discriminated against by being prevented from working overtime, according to the complaint, filed July 7 by attorney John T. Bochanis of Bridgeport-based Daly, Weihing & Bochanis, LLC. He is Hispanic and Brown, the complaint said.
Reyes, who is Hispanic and Brown, according to the lawsuit, has been employed by the public schools since 2013 and has served as a building manager for five years. His direct supervisor is the director of facilities, it said.
On Feb. 2, 2024, Reyes “received an email from the supervisor of the kitchen at New Canaan High School concerning cleaning issues in the high school kitchen,” the complaint said.
It continued: “Plaintiff attempted to resolve the cleaning issue with another coworker. When the coworker requested that the matter be escalated to the director of facilities, Plaintiff contacted [the director of facilities] about the employee issue. Both [the director of facilities] and [the assistant director of facilities] responded to the high school . When Plaintiff was in the kitchen, [the assistant director of facilities] approached the Plaintiff and started raising his voice at the Plaintiff. [The director of facilities] was also present. [The assistant director of facilities] continued to raise his voice at the Plaintiff, directing profanities at him with his arms moving in front of the Plaintiff and started to say Plaintiff was lucky and when Plaintiff asked about what, ADF indicated ‘let’s go outside’ in a threatening manner as if to fight.”
Later that day, Reyes “was called into the principal’s office and told that he was on administrative leave and to go home until further notice.”
According to Bochanis, the public schools “discriminated and retaliated against the Plaintiff in the terms and conditions of my employment as a result of his race, Hispanic, and color, Brown.”
The complaint continued: “The Defendants further retaliated against Plaintiff due to his previous complaints to the Defendants concerning his unequal treatment, including not being allowed to work overtime. Based on the Defendants’ actions as described above, the Defendants targeted and disciplined the Plaintiff based on his race and have denied him overtime work and have created a hostile work environment.”
The complaint said that both higher-ups are white, and that a counterpart building manager in NCPS who is white has been allowed to earn overtime.
It’s a violation of state law and federal law, the complaint said.
Reyes is seeking damages and attorney’s fees.
“The Plaintiff has lost and will continue to lose earnings and benefits, his earning capacity has been substantially impaired, he has lost and will continue to suffer from humiliation and severe physical and emotional injuries and distress, he has a will continue to incur litigation expenses and attorney’s fees and the quality of his life has been substantially diminished, all to his loss and detriment,” the complaint said.
The town and Board of Education on Sept. 14 filed a motion to strike one of the counts in the complaint, saying the complaint falls short of establishing violation of federally guaranteed rights because it “has not alleged that any purported constitutional deprivation resulted from an official municipal policy, practice, or custom, or the decision of an official possessing final policymaking authority.”
“Moreover, plaintiff fails to identify any constitutionally protected interest sufficient to support his due process claim,” according to the motion, filed on behalf of the defendants by attorneys Keith T. Trumbo and Dennis M. Durao of Rocky Hill-based Karsten & Tallberg, LLC.
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