By Alexis Shanes, Law360 (January 12, 2021 7:12 PM EST) –A trio of church custodians leveled a proposed class and collective action against the Archdiocese of New York, accusing a Harlem parish of ousting all its Hispanic workers and trying to get some of them kicked out of their home.
In a Monday complaint filed in New York federal court, Nicolas Guadalupe Ramirez and Estela Rocio Ramirez, who are married, along with Rosalinda Rosales, also accused the archdiocese and parish of violating state laws by denying them severance pay and wage statements.
“Even though the plaintiffs, along with their Hispanic coworkers, were faithful parishioners and dedicated employees, the church and the archdiocese shows little concern for their livelihood, especially amidst a pandemic where job opportunities are scarce,” the trio said in the complaint.
…
Much of the alleged discrimination, however, came to a head after the pandemic took hold of New York last spring.
In February 2020 the archdiocese finance director allegedly tried to evict the Ramirez family from the house they lived in on church property. The residence was meant for church custodians and the Ramirezes had lived there for more than 20 years, according to the complaint.
That May, the director told Guadalupe Ramirez that the parish pastor would give the family $10,000 to move out by the end of the month, according to the complaint.
Roughly a week later, the director threatened to change the locks on the house and kick the Ramirez family into the streets if they didn’t take the offer, the plaintiffs alleged.
In July 2020, the director “summarily terminated” 13 parish workers, leaving just one Hispanic employee who was already scheduled to leave the following month, according to the complaint.
Three workers — two Black and one white — were allowed to return, the plaintiffs said.
But none of the Hispanic workers, including one fired in February 2020, were allowed to have their jobs back, the plaintiffs alleged, even though St. Joseph got staffing funds from the federal Paycheck Protection Program.
The parish’s Spanish-speaking community complained about the firings to the pastor, according to the complaint. His response was, “with one call, the Hispanic people will be gone from the St. Joseph Church,” the plaintiffs alleged, which left Hispanic parishioners “astonished.”
…
Spokespeople for the archdiocese and the parish did not immediately respond Tuesday to requests for comment. An attorney for the plaintiffs also did not respond to a request for comment.
The plaintiffs are represented by John Troy and Aaron Schweitzer of Troy Law PLLC.
…
The article first appeared on the Law360.