The New York State Athletic Commission Faces Lawsuit Over Racial Discrimination and Wage Violations
Two former employees of the New York State Athletic Commission have brought forward a class action lawsuit against the governmental body that oversees combat sports on charges of racial discrimination and multiple wage and hour law violations, BoxingScene.com has learned.
In a 28-page lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York on March 5, plaintiffs Dorothea Perry and Jean Seme allege that the NYSAC denied them minimum wage ($15 per hour in 2018) and withheld payment for their work as at-will inspectors, including spread of hours pay and overtime wages.
Also named in the complaint are the executive director of the NYSAC, Kim Sumbler, and former executive director Anthony Giardina. (Giardina now serves as commissioner of the New York state Tax Appeals Tribunal.) Plaintiffs Perry and Seme, who are both Black, allege that Sumbler and Giardina created a “racially hostile” working environment. They also allege that Sumbler and Giardina “willfully” obstructed them from securing certain job promotions and terminated them on “false pretenses” having to do with their race.
