Reverse Discrimination

A Panorama City elementary school principal who said he was beaten unconscious by anti-white assailants asked the Anti-Defamation League last month for help in dealing with discrimination against him at his school, where he faced protests that he was not a Latino, a lawyer for the league said Wednesday.

A proposed settlement to increase goals for hiring female dockworkers in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach stalled Friday when a federal judge allowed a group of longshoremen to raise allegations that the settlement might result in reverse discrimination. In a three-page written ruling, District Judge Robert M.

A proposed settlement to hire more female longshore workers in the county's ports encountered strong criticism in federal court Thursday, as opponents called the agreement inadequate for women and biased against men. The settlement would require the International Longshore and Warehouse Union to increase the proportion of women in its ranks from 20% to 25% over the next six years in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Accused of failing to comply with a 15-year-old federal court order to hire more women, the powerful longshore workers union and a prominent shipping association have agreed to settle contempt of court charges by recruiting more female dockworkers in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The pending settlement, which is headed for approval early next year in federal court, involves a civil contempt action against the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Assn.

A federal judge awarded $20,000 Wednesday to a white Los Angeles police lieutenant who contended that his civil rights were violated when he was passed over for a promotion in favor of a less-qualified black officer. U.S. District Judge William D. Keller refused, however, to issue an injunction that would have curbed the Los Angeles Police Department's affirmative action program.

A federal judge ruled Thursday against the Los Angeles Police Department in a reverse discrimination case, finding that department officials improperly selected a minority candidate for promotion over more qualified white officers. U.S. District Judge William Keller ruled that Lt. Richard Dyer's civil rights were violated when a less qualified black candidate was chosen for the position of watch commander for the LAPD's air support division.

A former city manager fired by the City Council in December has filed a claim against the city alleging his termination was the result of reverse discrimination. Carl Yeats alleges that he was dismissed Dec. 17 because he was "a Caucasian of European American, non-Hispanic national origin" in the predominately Latino community. Yeats' firing came after Councilman Ricardo Pacheco joined the council. Pacheco, Councilman Manual Lozano and Councilwoman Teri Muse voted to dismiss Yeats.

In a lawsuit against the Anaheim Fire Department, two former and one current firefighter allege that they were forced to resign or were otherwise harassed for speaking out against the department's minority hiring policies. "These guys stood up for the standards and basically got put down very hard," said James G. Harker, a Santa Ana attorney representing Jimmie Lee Cox and John Lynn Cox, both 50; and Gregory J. Mowad, 33.

It took the Rev. Wayne Coombs less than two years to force two foreign governments and the U.S. State Department to allow him to arrange the adoption of 43 Romanian orphans by American couples. But it took Coombs and his wife seven years and more than $60,000 in legal expenses to adopt a single baby in his hometown, where he had to deal with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services.

A bitterly divided City Council has directed the city attorney to explore options for an outside investigation into accusations by City Manager Phil Hawkey that council members discriminated against non-minorities in hiring during his eight-year tenure. Hawkey told the council Monday that he stands by the allegations of reverse discrimination and interfering with hiring described in a letter his attorney sent the council last month.