A black former instructor at a Burbank film school sued the campus, alleging wrongful termination, racial harassment and discrimination, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent supervision, hiring and retention.
Kerry Riley filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Los Angeles Superior Court against the New York Film Academy.
The suit seeks unspecified damages. Dan Mackler, the academy’s director, told City News Service Thursday “the allegations set forth in this complaint are a complete fabrication.”
The suit states that Riley was hired as an instructor in June 2014. Four months later, school officials criticized him for mentioning racial topics, including discrimination, in one of his courses, the suit states. They later tried to silence him by claiming students had complained about him, according to the lawsuit.
“In reality, defendants were engaging in a witch hunt against one of defendants’ only African-American instructors,” the suit states.
In contrast, white instructors were not disciplined for discussing racial issues or when students complained about them, the suit alleges.
Riley was subjected to derogatory statements about blacks by both administrators and students, the suit states.
“For example, in an in-person meeting with … Dean Louis Fantasia, Mr. Fantasia shockingly used the phrase, “N-word, N-word, N-word, no,” the suit states.
Riley was removed from one of his courses in November 2014 and was not paid compensation owed him under his contract, the suit states.
The school did not investigate Riley’s complaints and he was fired after filing a complaint with the state in November, the suit states.
“This misconduct is consistent with defendants’ pervasive and longstanding practice of not hiring, or promoting, African-American employees,” the suit alleges.
—City News Service