HCCS board member sues for discrimation, retaliation

A Heights attorney and a Houston Community College System (HCCS) board of trustees member is suing HCCS, a Fort Bend resident and others over claims their motivations for making her the target of unwarranted criminal charges were discriminatory and retaliatory.

Heights attorney and HCCS board of trustees member Yolanda Flores filed a lawsuit on Aug. 18 in the Harris County District Court against HCCS, Mary Spangler, Fort Bend resident Neeta Sane and others, citing libel, slander, discrimination and retaliation.

Flores says that after she questioned, in her capacity as a HCCS board of trustee member, whether HCC Chancellor Mary Spangler should have received overtime pay for time worked during the Hurricane Ike emergency period, HCCS, Spangler and others retaliated by embarking on a highly publicized campaign to impeach Flores’s integrity, virtue and reputation.

The defendants, retaliating against Flores and two other Hispanic trustees for their questions concerning salaried employees earning overtime, accused Flores of having a conflict of interest, stating that her husband had a contractual relationship with a HCCS vendor, according to the brief.

The suit alleges the defendants’ August 2010 decision to refer these false accusations to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office for criminal prosecution was malicious and damaged her reputation in the community.

Flores is seeking actual and exemplary damages, as well as court costs. She is representing herself in the case.

Harris County District Court Case No. 2011-49084.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at the Harris County Courthouse. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.