The Maryland Board of Public Works approved a $500,000 settlement Wednesday to resolve a federal lawsuit in which former University of Maryland employees alleged they were subjected to racial discrimination.

The lawsuits involved two African American men who worked in information technology at this university’s Center for Advanced Study of Language, a federally funded research center.

The men were terminated in 2018 after the research center underwent changes in sponsorship and restructured into what is now the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security, according to court documents.

Duane Shaw, hired in 2012, filed his lawsuit in August 2021, alleging racial bias, exclusion from communication and projects and humiliation at work.

Similarly, Zanaki Renibe, hired in 2009, filed a lawsuit in March 2022 that alleges the university tolerated a racially hostile work environment. In court filings, Renibe cited racial slurs and humiliating interactions in his workplace.

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The cases were consolidated in April 2023. Judges dismissed the hostile work environment claims and removed the center’s supervisors as defendants, but did not dismiss the charges alleging that the university discriminated against the men when terminating their employment.

The Board of Public Works’ vote on Wednesday formalizes the $500,000 settlement, which covers all claims from both cases and attorney fees.

This university wrote in a statement to The Diamondback that the cases were resolved with no admission of liability by the university. In the statement, the university noted that the lawsuits pertain to events that happened in 2018.

The law office representing the plaintiffs will receive about $433,000 in legal fees, while Renibe will receive $56,283 and Shaw $10,700, according to the board’s agenda.

During the language center’s transitions in 2017 and 2018, dozens of research faculty were laid off with advanced notice, according to court documents.

Additionally, in 2018, the center’s leadership determined that budget cuts to support staff required a reduction-in-force, according to the documents.

Shaw and Renibe were two of four employees terminated, along with another African American employee and one Asian employee. At the time, only six of the center’s 165 employees were African American, according to court documents.

Shaw, Renibe and the other African American employee were allegedly called to a separate building and informed of their termination in the presence of an armed plainclothes police officer, according to court documents. They were not allowed to return to their offices to collect personal belongings, and their building access was immediately revoked, the documents read.

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About a week later, the Asian employee was allegedly laid off in the director’s office without police present, according to court documents.

The lawsuits allege the treatment of Shaw and Renibe was harsher than that of other employees, who were given advance notice and informed of their layoffs in their regular work locations.

University officials testified that the three were terminated in a separate building because exempt staff are not permitted to work after notice, and their positions involved access to highly sensitive information, according to court documents.

University officials said it was standard to have police presence outside the building during layoffs, and an officer was present inside the office because of concerns with how Renibe could react.

This university cited an alleged incident where a human resources employee said they felt threatened by Renibe. Renibe said he never acted inappropriately during his employment.

The plaintiffs’ attorney has not responded to a request for comment.