POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. (AP) -- A federal judge ruled that the Internal Revenue Service discriminated against a black employee who was passed over for promotions three times.
U.S. District Court Judge Charles Brieant awarded 48-year-old Carolyn Agonafer $140,000 in damages Friday after a three-day trial in Poughkeepsie, about 90 miles north of New York City.The judge ruled that racial discrimination and "retaliatory animus" were behind the failure to promote Agonafer.
In 1992, she was passed over for a revenue officer's position in favor of a 26-year-old white man, although he had less than one year of experience to Agonafer's 10 years, the judge noted.
Defense lawyers and Agonafer's supervisors argued that she was denied the job because her speech was "laced with poor English" during a job interview.
The judge said that based on what he'd heard of Agonafer's speech during trial testimony, the defense claim was "highly implausible."