Suit claims Galveston Housing Authority terminated woman as retaliation

GALVESTON - Alleging she lost her job as The former director of Housing Operations for the Galveston Housing Authority has filed suit against the agency alleging racism.

League City resident Charina Allen-Beasley, an African-American woman, claims in a lawsuit filed July 8 in Galveston County District Court that then-GHA Executive Director Harish Krishnarao terminated her last summer in retaliation for her complaints about alleged discriminatory behavior on his part.

Krishnarao recently resigned as the head of GHA, citing philosophical differences in the group's direction.

Allen-Beasley, 40, was responsible for the preparation of the Section 8 Management Assessment Program annual report for GHA, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development uses to assess the respondent's performance in key areas and to ensure program integrity and accountability.

She alleges Krishnarao made derogatory remarks about the housing authority's clients within her presence sometime after Hurricane Ike. She also claims he favored certain individuals under his supervision while mistreating African-American women such as herself.

According to the suit, she addressed the issue with Krishnarao only to have her complaints "disregarded and ignored."

Allen-Beasley alleges she discovered a number of factual errors and possible fabrications in the 2009-2010 SEMAP report and considered disciplinary action for the subordinate whose duty it was to update the document on a monthly basis.

With the approval of her administrative counterparts, the plaintiff forwarded to Krishnarao a memorandum outlining the serious errors she spotted in the SEMAP documentation and her concerns of fraud in connection with the report.

The original petition says the executive director, however, placed Allen-Beasley on administrative leave last August for a conflict with another colleague which she claims never happened.

Krishnarao reportedly pinned the blame of the erroneously written report on the plaintiff, who was then terminated.

Allen-Beasley claims she strictly adhered to the housing authority's stated policies and procedures with regard to human resources.

Consequently, she seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.

Allen-Beasley's counsel is The Law Offices of Filteau & Sullivan Ltd. LLP.

Galveston County 405th District Court Judge Wayne Mallia is presiding over the case.

Case No. 11-cv-1132