The Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission’s former manager of equity and inclusions alleges in a civil lawsuit that she was harassed, retaliated against, and wrongfully terminated because she was a whistleblower who then-Chief Executive Officer Emilia Reyes targeted.

The suit by Stacy Williams, filed on Nov. 22 in Fresno County Superior Court, claims that Reyes illegally retaliated against her on numerous occasions, creating a hostile work environment and ultimately forcing Williams to resign in April 2024.

Stacy Williams
(fresnobarriosunidos.org)

Among the lawsuit’s allegations is this bombshell: Williams said that after she and the equity inclusion director, Kevin Williams, reported unlawful behavior related to government grant reporting and spending, Reyes took away government grant management from Stacy Williams’ department so that neither she nor Kevin Williams could continue to monitor grant spending.

The lawsuit does not provide details about the alleged misappropriation of grant funding.

The Fresno EOC’s defense attorneys have denied all the allegations in the lawsuit, which is scheduled for a case management hearing in April.

Williams’ lawsuit seeks a trial by jury and compensatory, general, special, and punitive damages to be determined.

Suit Alleges Unlawful Actions by Fresno EOC

Williams’ suit also alleges that she was a whistleblower about other issues, including altered employees’ timecards, discrimination against staff, pay inequality, violation of breastfeeding laws, and failure to make accommodations required under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

As a result, Williams faced retaliation directly from Reyes or her “puppets,’ including the HR Officer, the lawsuit alleges.

According to the lawsuit, Williams was hired in September 2022 as equity and inclusions program coordinator and was promoted in April 2023 to manager of equity and inclusions and given a $10,000 annual pay raise.

After Williams and other HR staffers recommended disciplining a chef for inappropriate behavior toward women and absenteeism, Reyes countermanded the discipline and barred Williams and HR staff from the site where the “Bad Chef” worked.

When the California Equal Employment and Opportunities Commission ordered the Fresno EOC to create a complaint form and process and conduct training after a former employee complained about age discrimination and retaliation, the suit says Williams created a revised complaint form and gave it to two directors to review.

“CEO Reyes got upset because she did not want complaints to be documented for liability purposes despite the EEOC imposed obligation,” the lawsuit said. Williams’ suit claims Reyes disciplined her in connection with creating the form.

The suit said Williams warned against terminating an employee for making a retaliation/discrimination claim without first conducting an investigation, but Reyes overruled her and allowed the termination to occur, resulting in a lawsuit from the fired employee.

Williams’ suit said she met with the board president in June 2023 to complain about the retaliation and hostile work environment that Reyes had created, but that caused Reyes to come after her even harder, both directly and through the HR manager. The board president at that time was Linda Hayes, who resigned her seat on the board last year.

The lawsuit contends that the equity inclusion director, Kevin Williams, filed an EEOC complaint in July 2023 alleging he was the target of unlawful discrimination and a hostile work environment. The suit said he was demoted and had a pay cut, but eventually won his EEOC claim.

Such claims are not public record.

Williams’ suit said the retaliation she faced included being micromanaged, “getting the cold shoulder,” losing her office, and having her staff dissolved or moved to other departments, and having work assignments piled on her.

“Ms. Williams Plaintiff took the abuse as long as she could but was ultimately forced to resign on April 8, 2024,” the complaint says.

Agency’s Financial Struggles, Leadership Turnover

The lawsuit was filed the same month that Fresno Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula, who appointed himself to the Fresno EOC board after his mother stepped down, made public in a letter to his fellow commissioners his concerns about how the agency has been “hemorrhaging” money and burning through its cash reserves in recent years.

Arambula has called for a forensic audit to determine how the money was spent, and who made the decisions to spend it.

Related Story: When Did Fresno EOC Finances Start Their Downhill Plunge?

Other allegations of payroll improprieties surfaced in several recent lawsuits, including one filed by a former employee in October.

Cameron Young is suing the Fresno EOC in a lawsuit that claims the agency failed to pay minimum wages and overtime compensation, failed to provide meal periods and rest breaks, and failed to pay him for business expenses.

The complaint by Young was filed in October as a class action lawsuit in Fresno County Superior Court.

Several other former Fresno EOC employees filed suits in recent years, also alleging that they were denied meal breaks and weren’t paid for overtime.

Related Story: Suits Against Fresno EOC Claim Wage Violations, Unlawful Firing

Stacy Williams’ Lawsuit