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| This should say "Works for You, IF you are a WHITE MALE ONLY" |
An employee of city-owned CPS Energy sued the city of San Antonio for racial discrimination, claiming the utility transferred him involuntarily from a management position in 2006 and refused to return him to the job when it was vacated in 2012.
Arthur Butcher alleges in his suit, filed last Wednesday in Bexar County District Court, the utility removed him from his supervisory position in 2006 to open a space up for a white employee who was about to lose his responsibilities. Butcher, an African American engineer, claims he was “subsequently involuntarily transferred to another operating division of (CPS Energy).”
In 2012, Butcher said, he reapplied for a job similar to his old position.
The suit acknowledges that CPS upped the title and pay for the spot in 2007. However, the suit claims that qualifications required for the job were unchanged, and that the utility had added no new responsibilities.
Butcher's suit claims that CPS illegally limited the pool of potential applicants for the position to just those who currently work in that department, effectively preventing any African Americans from applying.
Butcher made $114,352 in total compensation in 2012, and his regular salary increased four of the last five years, according to payroll data obtained by the San Antonio Express-News this spring.
CPS spokeswoman Lisa Lewis said Butcher filed a complaint last year with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which dismissed the case. Lewis said Butcher currently manages programs and projects, but not people.
She declined to comment further, citing the pending litigation.
The attorney representing Butcher, Samuel Beale of Houston, was traveling and unavailable for comment when the Express-News contacted his office Tuesday afternoon. Attempts to reach Butcher also were unsuccessful.
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Courtesy nhicks@express-news.net
