U.S. Department
of Justice
United States v. Kansas City, Kansas Housing Authority (D. Kan.)
On September 29, 2017, the United States executed a settlement agreement resolving United States v. Kansas City, Kansas Housing Authority (D. Kan.) a Fair Housing Act sexual harassment election/pattern or practice referral from HUD. The original complaint, filed on October 26, 2015, and amended on September 22, 2016, alleged that three Housing Authority employees engaged in a pattern or practice of sexually harassing female housing applicants and residents, and that some incidents of sexual harassment by employees of the Housing Authority were known to Housing Authority management. Under the settlement, KCKHA, former Administrative Coordinator Victor Hernandez, former Property Manager Derrick Estelle, Sr., and former Director of Housing Management Ronald Cobb, will pay a total of $360,000 in monetary damages to 14 current and former KCKHA residents and applicants who were subjected to sexual harassment, as well as $5,000 to the United States in civil penalties. The settlement also requires KCKHA to conduct training, to adopt new policies and procedures to prevent sexual harassment by its employees, and to provide a mechanism by which tenants and applicants can register complaints about sexual harassment with KCKHA management. The case was referred to the Division after the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.
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