Bradley discrimination case moving forward

In April 2012, the Niagara Falls Reporter broke a story about Clarence Bradley, a City of Niagara Falls worker, arrested and fired for allegedly committing fraud by claiming unemployment benefits he was not entitled to, filing a complaint with the EEOC.

The EEOC complaint accuses the city of treating Bradley “disparately” from other employees who were white.

Bradley is black.

The Reporter has learned the city filed a response claiming that Bradley was fired because he failed to follow the law regarding receiving unemployment benefits.
And that he pleaded guilty to petite larceny in connection with the case.

Bradley’s attorney, Steve M. Cohen filed an answer to the City’s position on the claim on September 21st. "It was disingenuous," Cohen stated.

Cohen cited Bradley’s medical condition and the inability of the State to recognize his diminished condition. The City allegedly allowed other workers to receive both unemployment benefits and worker’s compensation benefits.

Bradley is seeking reinstatement of his position. He claims there was a misunderstanding and that the benefits were approved by the City.

Nonetheless, the state prosecuted Bradley and the city terminated him from public service.

Bradley filed a complaint in March 2012 with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming he was fired based on his race.

In June 2012, the City filed its response, claiming Bradley was let go for non-discriminatory reasons.

Bradley worked for the city's Department of Public Works since 2003.

The circumstances that led to the dispute occurred as a result of Bradley who suffers from diabetes, falling into a coma in the autumn of 2009. He was hospitalized at Mount St. Mary's Hospital for several weeks. After exhausting paid sick and personal leave time, he filed for unemployment.

Although approved by the state and by his supervisors at the city, Bradley was later to learn, he was ineligible for unemployment, because he was not technically unemployed but on unpaid leave.

His supervisor, DPW Head David Kinney, as well as by the Human Resources Department and the Payroll Department approved, as his employer must, his unemployment status, as required by New York State law.

Bradley returned to work in February 2011.

According to Mayor Paul Dyster, a "routine review" of payroll records in January 2010 revealed Bradley, during his illness, received seven unemployment checks while on unpaid leave amounting to about $3,000.

In spite of the city approving his unemployment, Dyster reported Bradley to the New York State Department of Labor, alleging fraud.

Bradley was well known to be a political adversary of Dyster and had made several complaints to the EEOC about racism at the DPW.

On the morning of April 5, 2011, a plain clothes officer from the New York State Bureau of Criminal Investigation came to City Hall seeking Bradley's address in order to issue an appearance ticket on charges arising from his illegally receiving unemployment benefits.

Learning the police officer was at City Hall, the mayor proposed to summon Bradley. While the officer waited in another office, the mayor informed local media an arrest was imminent at City Hall.

City Administrator Donna Owens contacted Bradley and instructed him to come to her office, without disclosing the purpose.
Once inside her office, Owens, City Attorney Craig Johnson and City EEOC Officer Ruby Pulliam ushered the State Police detective to meet Bradley, according to Bradley.

"The officer handed me an appearance ticket," Bradley said, "We were about to leave, when Donna Owens and Craig Johnson both said to the officer, 'Wait, aren't you going to handcuff him?' The officer wouldn't. Owens said, 'The mayor wants you to handcuff him.' The officer got upset. He said, ‘I serve 15 of these a month, and we don't handcuff people for appearance tickets.'"

Outside the city administrator's office, Dyster gathered the media.

Bradley said, " As the officer and I walked out of the office, and not handcuffed, there's Channel 2, Channel 4, the newspapers, photographers, everyone, all coming around me."

After Bradley left City Hall, Dyster held a press conference adding he would suspend Bradley immediately without pay.

Five months later, Bradley pleaded guilty to a single count of petit larceny in a deal with the Niagara County District Attorney's Office.

"We fired him," Mayor Dyster told the press. "This type of conduct is not tolerated by this administration."

As an example of disparate treatment, Bradley’s EEOC complaint names Councilmember Kristen Grandinetti who received more than $6,000 in overpayments from a health insurance opt out based on the false information that she was married when she was actually single.

A neighbor of Dyster, she was permitted to pay the $6,000 back.

Willie Santiago, a foreman in the DPW, was another example. Santiago was not fired and actually given "greater supervisory authority," despite the fact that Santiago was arrested for his role in the theft of city millings.

Another name on the complaint is Thaddeus Buchalski, a maintenance worker at the Municipal Building who, according to police records, stole two city laptop computers valued at about $1,000.

No date has been given for a decision from the EEOC.