Orleans DA is contesting bias verdict
Jordan’s firings of white workers not based on race, judges told
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
By Gwen Filosa
(nola.com) Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie Jordan appeared in a federal appeals court Monday, fighting to overturn the 2005 jury verdict that he violated labor discrimination laws by firing dozens of white employees after taking office.
The interest on the $3.4 million jury award, including back pay and fees, is accumulating during the appeals process.
“This case is unique because it’s about the patronage decisions of a newly elected official in staffing his office staff,” Assistant District Attorney Donna Andrieu told a three-judge panel at the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. “Mr. Jordan had a nondiscriminatory reason for staffing his office the way he did.”
Days after becoming the city’s first black district attorney, stepping into the office that Harry Connick ran for 29 years, Jordan fired dozens of longtime employees.
A lawsuit by 43 fired workers quickly followed, and on March 30, 2005, a federal jury found Jordan liable for discriminating on the basis of race. Of the 43 employees who sued, 35 won money in damages at trial. (more…)
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