A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from a current Allentown employee who claimed she was discriminated against and subject to a hostile work environment.
Tawanna Whitehead, who is Black, has worked for Allentown since 2010 and currently serves as deputy city clerk, managing city records, City Council agendas and assisting Council with legislation.
In a lawsuit filed in December 2024, Whitehead’s attorney Marc Weinstein alleged that she heard city officials utter racial slurs and other racist comments, and was subject to racist profanity directly on one occasion.
The lawsuit alleged that the city failed to adequately protect Whitehead from discriminatory conduct, causing “significant psychological harm” requiring “ongoing treatment with mental health providers and appropriate medication.”
However, federal Judge Gail Weilheimer sided with the city in an opinion issued Friday, finding that Whitehead’s concerns were adequately addressed through “through internal reporting, training and investigation.”
According to the lawsuit, Whitehead heard City Council member Candida Affa make racist comments on several occasions in 2019 and 2020, including overhearing Affa say that Black people in Allentown are always “begging for something” and “do not want to educate themselves or work,” and questioning the phrase “Black Lives Matter.”
In September 2023, the lawsuit alleged, Affa directed racist comments toward Whitehead after a City Council meeting earlier in the month. After Whitehead asked Affa about her public comments during a September 2023 meeting, Affa allegedly began cursing at Whitehead and said she “does not care what a Black person says,” before she left the room, slamming the door.
According to the judge’s written opinion, Affa acknowledged cursing at Whitehead during the September 2023 encounter, but denied making racist remarks. Following the confrontation, the city opened an internal investigation which found that Affa had acted inappropriately, and had taken action “to ensure such conduct does not repeat itself.” The city also offered Whitehead the option of working remotely or relocating her workplace away from Affa to avoid future encounters with her.
The judge also noted that the city was “limited” in the action it could take against Affa because she is an elected city official, and thus cannot be fired or disciplined directly by another city employee. Therefore, “a reasonable jury” could not conclude that the city failed to address Whitehead’s concerns, Weilheimer wrote.
A city spokesperson could not immediately be reached via phone Monday, but Affa expressed relief the lawsuit had been dismissed.
“It was a rough … almost two years,” Affa said in an interview with The Morning Call. “To have this hanging over our heads and knowing we were innocent, and I’m happy that it was dismissed, and we can go on with our lives.”
In an email, Weinstein, Whitehead’s attorney, said that she is still deciding whether she will appeal the judge’s decision. The judge, he added, decided only that the conduct from Affa and others named in the lawsuit “were not sufficiently severe to be illegal. The citizens of Allentown, however, have the right to decide whether the comments are acceptable. And if they don’t, they can tell City Council at any public meeting.”
Whitehead is one of five current and former employees who have accused Allentown of illegal and discriminatory actions in a federal lawsuit. Tatiana Tooley, former human relations officer; John Ferry, a former human resources coordinator and risk claims analyst; Nadeem Shahzad, former human resources director; and Karen Ocasio, former human resources generalist, also filed lawsuits claiming they faced illegal discrimination or retaliation while employed by the city. Shahzad’s lawsuit also was dismissed; the other three lawsuits are ongoing.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.