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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who was employed by the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association for over a decade has filed a lawsuit against the organization claiming it discriminated against him as a Pacific Islander.
Isileli Tausinga was chief of the investigations division between 2015 and 2021, and was hired by the association in 2007 as an investigator.
Tausinga's lawsuit said he loved his job and his evaluations were excellent; however, in 2019 the association began treating him "worse than his white colleagues," he said.
Tausinga said after he brought forward discrimination complaints, the employees he brought them to questioned his performance, accused him of discriminating based on gender and threatened him. After this, he said he experienced anxiety and panic attacks. The lawsuit said his doctor advised him to take medical leave, and later said returning may be harmful to his physical and mental health, so Tausinga resigned in 2021.
The Salt Lake Legal Defender Association said in a statement to KSL.com that it acknowledges Tausinga's right to "litigate his decision to resign."
"Because of our organization's commitment to the judicial process, we recognize that the courts are the appropriate forum for addressing Mr. Tausinga's allegations," the statement said.
The association is a nonprofit law firm that provides legal assistance to people who are charged with crimes. It filed an answer to Tausinga's complaint on Aug....
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