Four former Kendall Campus custodians filed a federal lawsuit against Miami Dade College last April.<\/p>\n
According to court records, they said they were fired, selectively laid off or forced to resign under unclear circumstances. They believe it is because they are black, according to court documents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe case is still in its early stages and we are waiting for the court to rule on certification,\u201d said Dale Morgado, the attorney representing all four clients. \u201cI can\u2019t comment on ongoing litigation, but I will prove my case in court.\u201d<\/p>\n
Joy Ruff, director of Equal Opportunity Programs and Americans with Disabilities Act coordinator for Miami Dade College, did not return voicemail messages left by The Reporter\u00a0<\/em>concerning the matter as of press time; the Dean of Administration Gloria Baez and the campus services department at Kendall Campus also did not return messages.<\/p>\n In an interview with The Reporter<\/em>, one of the plaintiffs\u2014Shack Shedrick, 39, who is currently a part-time student at Kendall Campus\u2014said he was forced to resign because he is black. Shedrick declined to discuss how the College made him resign, but said he was replaced by white Hispanic employees.<\/p>\n The other three plaintiffs: Jerome Mitchell, John Williams and Milton Davis\u2014whom Morgado said had been with the College from nine to nearly 20 years\u2014were unavailable for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cI used to strip, shampoo and wax carpets, and tile floors,\u201d Shedrick said. \u201cI complained to the maintenance department about the corrosive chemicals. I wanted a breathing apparatus; we were cleaning without ventilation. I suffer from respiratory issues; asthma. My face is actually broken out from the chemical fumes.\u201d<\/p>\n Shedrick,\u00a0 a 17-year employee, said he complained, but received no response and soon started getting\u00a0 negative comments on employee evaluations. After complaining to Human Resources, he was later moved to Kendall Campus\u2019 Building L to clean mop heads, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll I wanted was a breathing apparatus. I wouldn\u2019t have had to get into all this, \u201cShedrick said. \u201cIt\u2019s like slavery all over again. It\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Four former Kendall Campus custodians filed a federal lawsuit against Miami Dade College last April. According to court records, they said they were fired, selectively laid off or forced to resign under unclear circumstances. They believe it is because they are black, according to court documents. \u201cThe case is still in its early stages and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":315,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-6258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-news"},"yoast_head":"\n