MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WTAQ) - A retired state official who helped victims of job discrimination turned out to be a victim himself. Federal Judge Lynn Adelman has ruled that Johnny Kimble – who used to head the Milwaukee office of the state Equal Rights Division – was denied years of pay raises because of his African-American race and gender. The judge found former state division administrator Sheehan Donoghue guilty of discrimination. Negotiations or court hearings must now be scheduled to determine how much Kimble should get in back pay and damages. The state is deciding whether to appeal the judge’s decision.
The 61-year-old Kimble retired in 2005 after 29 years as the head of the Milwaukee Equal Rights Division. Donoghue, of Vilas County, headed the state division in Madison from 1991 to 2003 after she served in the state Assembly. Kimble’s suit alleged that Donoghue basically ignored him and never met with him – but she blamed him for some of the agency’s problems in the Madison office.
In the meantime, he said his pay held steady while others got raises – and Donoghue’s executive assistant got almost as much as Kimble did for supervising 18 investigators and staffers. Donoghue argued that Kimble did not do his job well enough, but Judge Adelman rejected the claim. And he said she gave contradictory testimony during his trial.
