Carlos Pacheco, a Mexican migrant who worked as a firefighter in Kansas City (USA) for 30 years, has filed a lawsuit claiming he was “systematically” discriminated against and not promoted to higher positions within the department because of his Latin American origin, according to local media.
Pacheco joined the Fire Department in 1992 and later became the captain of the Argentina station, which serves predominantly Hispanic residents, where he worked for over 13 years.
According to Jake Miller, Pacheco’s lawyer, during that time, he was subjected to discrimination by higher-ups who repeatedly ignored his requests for promotion while other captains with less experience but of non-Latin origin were promoted.
In 2010, Miller said, his client applied for a promotion to captain of search and rescue, but despite his four years of experience as a captain, the position was given to a white colleague who had only six months of experience in the same position as Pacheco.
Similarly, the former firefighter claims he did not receive the same training opportunities as his non-Hispanic peers and was required to meet different requirements than others in order to be promoted.
He also alleged that after supposedly failing a test to be promoted to interim chief, one of his superiors denied him the opportunity to reapply for the position for three years, during which time seven white captains were promoted.
Pacheco stated that during his three decades of service, he only knew of two non-white individuals who were promoted to Fire Chief, the highest rank that can be achieved within the department.
The retired firefighter has filed numerous complaints with the appropriate authorities; however, most were dismissed due to the Kansas statute of limitations, while other lawsuits were resolved with out-of-court monetary settlements.
Now, at 60 years old, Pacheco cannot continue working due to a shoulder injury, so he decided to retire. However, according to his legal representative, if he had been promoted to chief, the injury could have been avoided.