Former Collin College employee Keith Otto is suing the school for retaliation and discrimination

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In September and October, two educators filed separate lawsuits against their former employer, Collin College. Now the school has a hat trick in hand.

Earlier this month, a third former employee sued the college on charges of retaliation and discrimination based on race and disability, among other things. In court documents filed on November 4, Keith Otto, a native of Antigua and Barbuda, claims his supervisor created a hostile work environment for him.

The lawsuit was filed in the Northern District of Texas of the US District Court. In 2019, Otto filed double lawsuits against the school with the Dallas District of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Civil Rights Division of the Texas Workforce Commission.

Otto was hired as a management consultant in May 2015 and remained at Collin College until October 2018, documents show. He claims the school violated several federal safeguards, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“My workplace was permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule and insults that adversely affected my working conditions,” Otto wrote in part.

In the documents, Otto claims that he has faced numerous discriminatory acts throughout his employment. He says his first application for placement was not approved for more than two years – until a few months before his “false notice”.

“My workplace has been riddled with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult.” – Keith Otto, former Collin College employee

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Otto also wrote that his former supervisor displayed “constant favoritism” to his white colleagues who were not adhered to by the same strict standards. The supervisor is said to have instructed these colleagues to “spy on” Otto’s work and to report alleged deficiencies, including “trivial grammatical errors”.

“Neither I nor the other black professional has ever been hired to monitor the databases of the white employees,” wrote Otto.

Otto also says that despite his disability, the supervisor often interrupts his work, which undermines his productivity. Otto also claims that the supervisor tried to cover up the threatening behavior of a white colleague towards him.

“All colleagues saw how this employee yelled at and insulted me in an office meeting: Then he jumped up, escaped from our meeting and left work for the day,” wrote Otto. He added that the “unprovoked misconduct” was against school standards, but the incident was not reported by his manager.

Otto demands, among other things, lost wage arrears, reinstatement and compensation for emotional stress.

Otto did not return it observer‘s requests for comment by time of publication.

In an email, Collin College spokesman Kirk Dickey said the school was aware of the latest lawsuit.

“The college has responded to Mr. Otto’s allegations since he left college in October 2018,” he continued. “Out of respect for the privacy of former employees, it is our practice not to comment on such legal disputes in the media.”

Several professors have made allegations against Collin College in the past few months. Some have claimed they were fired for criticizing the school’s COVID-19 response; others cite their involvement in a local non-bargaining teachers’ union.

An Asian administrator accused a provost of Racial Discrimination, the All Americans reported in April. A black professor resigned earlier this year on charges of years of racist harassment.


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