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AOC Settles Lawsuit

The Architect of the Capitol has settled a nearly two-year-old race discrimination lawsuit for $60,000, according to a Tuesday court filing.

The agency agreed to the settlement, bringing an end to a lawsuit brought by maintenance mechanic Nathaniel Calloway in December 2009, in which he claimed he was passed over for a promotion because he is black.

Calloway, who has worked in the House office buildings for about seven years, claimed in the lawsuit that a lesser-qualified white employee was given the assistant supervisor post he had applied for.

In subsequent court filings, Calloway claimed that as a result of his lawsuit, fellow employees were tormenting him while supervisors turned a blind eye.

“The conditions of Mr. Calloway’s employment changed for the worse and became hostile to him,” according to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “Calloway was regularly teased and called a ‘rat’ by members of the shop; he was assigned low-level ‘grunt work’ projects, akin to assignments normally made to trainees; and he was denied spot and performance awards.”

Calloway applied for another promotion to assistant supervisor in April 2010, was again denied, and added the incident to his case, claiming again that he was passed over because of his race, according to court files.

Calloway will receive $5,000 in back pay, while his lawyer will get $55,000 for work on the case.

The terms of the settlement also stipulate that Calloway must be promoted to his sought-after assistant supervisor position by Sept. 1 and have all negative performance reviews removed from his record.

In exchange, Calloway will abandon all claims against the AOC.

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