Lawsuit claims state filed falsified report in discrimination claim

DES MOINES A class-action lawsuit alleging racial bias in hiring practices against the state is claiming the state filed an altered, falsified report to the Iowa Civil Rights Commission earlier this decade.

Linda Pippen, of Fairfax, and Violet LeFlore, of Cedar Rapids, filed complaints with the commission after both applied for a position of workforce adviser within Iowa Workforce Development. Neither of the African-American women was hired.

The lawsuit alleges two white supervisors openly discussed how to avoid hiring either one. An employee in the meeting stepped forward to report what was said, the lawsuit claims.

The allegations triggered an investigation inside IWD. A January 2002 report found evidence of discrimination against the women, while a report in March 2002 concluded no discrimination occurred.

The women filed complaints with the civil rights commission, but only the March 2002 report concluding no discrimination occurred was forwarded to the commission by the state.

The commission later found no probable cause for Pippen's and LeFlore's discrimination claims.

The lawsuit alleges that second report the commission saw “whitewashed” evidence of discrimination and retaliation against the employee who revealed it. The lawsuit claims the employee was removed from his job as punishment for his honesty.

After finding out about the earlier report, the commission has reopened the complaint claims.

Iowa Deputy Attorney General Jeff Thompson said they

moved to reopen the women's complaints before the commission when they found the first report in the case.

“There was no alteration of a report. There were simply two different reports in the same investigation,” Thompson said.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver's spokesman, Troy Price, said the matters pre-date Culver's time as governor but “are to be taken seriously.”

“As this is now being reviewed by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, we cannot comment on this specific matter, but we know that they will give it the attention it deserves,” Price said in a statement.