Topeka -- Another woman has filed a grievance against the Kansas Department of Human Resources, but unlike other women who alleged sex discrimination, this employee says she was passed over for a promotion because she is Hispanic.
Rosalinda Day, a 22-year employee of the department, said she didn't want to file a complaint with the Kansas Human Rights Commission but felt she had no other choice.
"I'm not a troublemaker. I don't rock the boat," Day said.
KDHR Secretary Richard Beyer denied Day's allegations, though he said Day was an excellent employee.
"I'm sure she is articulating what she believes, but there is another side to the story," Beyer said.
But, as in instances of the other allegations, Beyer said the agency could not elaborate because the matters are part of contested hearings.
The issue of discrimination and harassment spilled Wednesday into the Kansas House.
The House adopted an amendment to the state budget that would direct Gov. Bill Graves' administration to strengthen notification about rules prohibiting sexual harassment and increase anti-discrimination training in state agencies.
State Rep. Annie Kuether, D-Topeka, pushed for the amendment after news reports of allegations of sexual discrimination and harassment in various state agencies, including KDHR, the Kansas Lottery and Graves' budget office.
In Day's instance, Day said she was in charge of the agency's call centers that handle unemployment benefits, but then was demoted.
She said she was told by Roger Aeschliman, the agency's deputy secretary, that the demotion was due to budgetary reasons and had nothing to do with her work performance.
But shortly later, Aeschliman restored the position, in addition to several other similar positions, and did not consider Day for any of the jobs, she said. The job that Day held was given to an Anglo woman who didn't even apply for the position, Day said.
Several years earlier, Day said she was in line for another promotion but was passed over at the last moment without explanation and the job was given to an Anglo male.
Day said she believes she was bypassed in both instances because of her ethnicity.
"You don't want to admit it's happening to you," Day said. "But I had to wake up," she said. "They're hurting my career, they're hurting my reputation."
Three other women, including two former division directors and a current program director, have filed complaints with the state Human Rights Commission, alleging sexual discrimination at the agency.
One woman, Jill Crumpacker, has filed a federal lawsuit in which she alleges she was subjected to sexual discrimination and later fired after she blew the whistle when an agency computer was used to download pornography from the Internet.
-- Staff writer Scott Rothschild can be reached at (785) 354-4222.
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