Editor’s Note: This story contains racist and explicit language, which has been redacted. It has been included to provide context for the allegations made in the lawsuit. View the lawsuit as filed at deltacollegian.net.
One Delta College employee was denied advancement due to ethnic background discrimination and another was fired in retaliation for whistleblowing, according to a lawsuit filed on July 18 against the college in San Joaquin County Superior Court.
The plaintiffs named in the document are Neelab Ibrahim and Dawn Kendrick. The suit seeks $2 million in damages.
Delta College as an entity is being sued, with specific employees named within the suit.
The lawsuit alleges that Ibrahim was prevented from advancing at the college due to discrimination from her supervisor, specifically the “discriminatory animus of the Fiscal Director Vanessa Rodriguez, and the blind eye that Human Resources turned toward Rodriguez’s repugnant actions,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that over the course of a two-year period, Ibrahim had applied for higher positions to be compensated for the work she was already performing.
“Ms. Rodriguez falsely told Ms. Ibrahim that she did not meet the minimum educational requirements for the Level 4 (Fiscal Analyst) position. This was not true,” the document claims.
According to court records, Ibrahim holds a degree in Accounting & Finance, worked for over 10 years with the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ibrahim later received a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at CSU East Bay, and also received Top-Secret security clearance while working as a Signals Intelligence Analyst for the U.S. Armed Forces.
“When Ms. Ibrahim reached out to Human Resources about this issue, Vanessa Rodriguez yelled at her, and gave her a write up without notifying the Union,” the lawsuit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, the other plaintiff, Dawn Kendrick, was on several calls with Director of Fiscal Services Vanessa Rodriguez regarding Ibrahim’s role.
“Ms. Rodriguez made a point, again, of noting that Ms. Ibrahim was from Afghanistan, ‘and that is where she received her education, and you know foreign degrees don’t mean [s–] in our country…. Afghanistan and that region of the world is violent and chaotic, and those [f–]ed up, middle eastern people bring that [s–] here to the United States and expect us to give them everything! … I can’t stand it, and she is just like the rest of them! I am sick of this [f–]ing [b–]! She doesn’t even belong in our department!’” claims the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that in a “2.5-hour team call,” Rodriguez allegedly stated to Kendrick that the Level 3 position required 20 units of accounting disqualifying Ibrahim, as opposed to the position actually only requiring 12 units, meaning Ibrahim was qualified.
“In a heated frenzy, Ms. Rodriguez said of Ms. Ibrahim [to Kendrick], ‘Neely [Ibrahim] has a false sense of self, and she thinks she is better than everyone else. She even applied for my job! Can you imagine Dawn?’” claims the document.
The lawsuit then states that Kendrick reported the issue to Theresa Truly, the director of Human Resources.
“The Head of Human Resources took no notes, asked no questions, and as far as Ms. Kendrick could tell, conducted no follow-up with her or anyone else,” the suit alleges.
Eight days after requesting that Ibrahim’s position be reclassified, the lawsuit claims that Kendrick was fired without cause.
“[Kendrick] uncovered the truth about Ms. Ibrahim’s reprehensible treatment, she tried to set the record straight. For her courageous actions, she was terminated,” states the lawsuit.
Delta has retained Kellie Marie Murphy to represent the college in the lawsuit. A case management conference has been scheduled for Jan. 16, 2024.
Emails sent to Drew F. Teti, the lawyer representing Ibrahim and Kendrick, as well as Rodriguez and Truly, were not returned as of press time.
Alex Breitler, Director of Marketing and Communications for the college, responded to Collegian’s request for comment via email, issuing a statement:
“As a general rule, Delta College does not comment in detail on pending legal matters in order to preserve the integrity of the process.
We can confirm that the College has investigated the allegations, but cannot discuss that investigation as this is a personnel matter.
Delta College is firmly committed to diversity in the workplace and to ensuring that employees from all backgrounds and walks of life are welcomed into our college community and treated respectfully.”
A Campus Climate Survey conducted in Spring 2023 cited that people on Delta’s campus experienced problems with racism and discrimination.
“Most interviewees cited being targets of racism and discrimination. The majority of interviewees cited being targets of microaggressions. Distressingly, one focus group participant identified the microaggressions — compounded by the toxic campus culture as — ‘the Delta Way,’” reads a report on the survey.
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