First Judicial District Department of Correctional Services v. Iowa Civil Rights Commission

UHLENHOPP, Justice.

In this appeal we determine whether an employee was the victim of discrimination and whether a state agency could be held liable as a claimed successor employer for the discriminatory act of its predecessor.

Mary Berdell is a blind, black woman living in Waterloo, Iowa. She is a trained counselor, having completed post graduate studies in education and psychology at Drake University and received a master’s degree in social work from the University of California at Los Angeles. She was employed by the Black Hawk Department of Court Services (BHDCS) as a part-time pretrial…