NEW ORLEANS – A Vietnamese man is suing the City of New Orleans, along with the director of its permits department, alleging he was discriminated against and ultimately terminated due to his race.
Plaintiff Nha T. Do filed his lawsuit last month in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
In his eight-page complaint, he also names Tammie Jackson, who became the director of the city’s Department of Safety and Permits in 2020.
Do claims the city failed to terminate him for valid cause, and that his termination was “arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.”
“The termination, based on pretextual and unsubstantiated conflict of interest allegations regarding transactions that occurred years earlier (2016-2017) and were commonplace administrative tasks at the time, constitutes unlawful discrimination,” his complaint states.
Do was employed by the Department of Safety and Permits since 2008, most recently holding the position of Chief Electrical Inspector. According to his filing, he holds an electrical engineering degree and is a certified residential and commercial electrical inspector.
In his complaint, Do claims the discrimination began in 2015 and continued since.
For example, he contends a comment was made – by an Office of Inspector General employee – in the presence of electrical contractors that an “Asian inspector should not do inspection for Asian contractors.”
In addition, Do claims he was the subject of an investigation by Jackson and the OIG in 2024, regarding alleged policy violations.
The alleged grounds for termination included violations of the department’s conflict of interest policy and other ethical violations, including allegedly improperly closing out permits on four properties he owned in 2016-17.
The department alleged Do had a financial interest in D3 Contractors LLC – which Do claims he denied and contradicted with evidence showing that his brother, Hoai Do, was the sole owner – and that he improperly closed out permits on properties owned by his company, NDT Investments LLC.
According to Do’s lawsuit, he and other witnesses testified that closing out permits was a purely “ministerial and administrative task” that occurred after all independent inspections were passed and was a practice that was allowed and commonplace at the time of the underlying transactions.
“Director Jackson’s testimony concerning the conflict of interest stemmed from events predating her tenure (she became Director in 2020), and she conceded her testimony was based on reviewing documents, not firsthand knowledge of the prior departmental custom and practice,” his complaint states.
Do argues the investigation came as a result of his formal complaint letter in January 2024, requesting all investigations into him cease. In his letter, he characterizes the investigations as “persecutorial tactics,” arguing he was repeatedly and falsely accused of public corruption.
It was shortly after his formal complaint, in February 2024, that he was notified of his emergency suspension. His termination letter was issued in April 2024.
“Plaintiff engaged in protected activity by reporting illegal activities, acting as a whistleblower, and submitting a formal complaint on January 25, 2024, detailing harassment and persecution by OIG and State Board staff,” his complaint states. “Immediately following, or in close temporal proximity to, his protected activities, Defendants took materially adverse employment actions, specifically the emergency suspension on February 12, 2024, and subsequent termination on April 8, 2024.
“The adverse employment actions were causally connected to, and motivated by, Plaintiff's protected activities in opposing perceived unlawful harassment and corruption.”
Do seeks compensatory damages for lost wages, back pay, emotional distress, mental anguish, and humiliation. He also seeks punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
Bivalacqua, Gele & Ellis in New Orleans is representing him in the action.
This is at least the second time in recent months that Jackson has been named in a federal filing. In November, a New Orleans-area inspection service provider alleged she illegally revoked its licenses.
