Framingham School Official's Race Discrimination Suit Dismissed

FRAMINGHAM, MA — A former Framingham Public Schools official's lawsuit against the district over purported racial harassment has been dismissed, with both sides agreeing to settle the matter out of court, according to recent federal court filings.

Former acting assistant transportation director James Dobson sued the district in April, claiming he was racially harassed almost as soon as he came on the job in October 2018.

Dobson, who is from Liberia, cited two specific incidents in the suit. In one, a coworker said "this black guy wants to be the boss" in reference to Dobson, according to the suit. In another incident, a Durham School Services employee was telling a story to Dobson and the same coworker about going to the store to buy lottery tickets for his mother when he was young. As the Durham employee was finishing the story, Dobson's coworker interjected, "do you mean [N-word] run.”

Dobson had complained about the initial "black guy wants to be the boss" remark, and complained again about the N-word remark. The coworker was eventually fired, according to court documents.

But Dobson claimed that his supervisor at the time, Patricia DiSalle, treated Dobson differently after the firing. The suit claims she was "short" with Dobson, and excluded him from meetings. Dobson was then terminated on Jan. 24, 2019, which he claims was wrongful.

In response to the suit, attorneys for the school district denied most of Dobson's allegations. But the district did confirm that the fired employee used the N-word in front of Dobson. The district's response also says that Dobson was "terminated for legitimate, non-discriminatory business reasons."

However, on July 15, Dobson and the school district agreed to allow the lawsuit to be dismissed. That follows a May court filing where both sides agreed to use "alternative dispute resolution" to settle the matter out of court.