Ousted Civil Rights Director Andrea Dorch Sues Kansas City For Alleged Discrimination

The lawsuit filed by Andrea Dorch alleges selective enforcement of residency rules and a pattern of retaliation against Black employees.

The former director of civil rights and equal opportunity for Kansas City, Andrea Dorch, has filed a lawsuit against the city and City Manager Brian Platt, alleging discrimination.

The lawsuit points to systemic bias, selective enforcement of residency rules, and a pattern of retaliation against those who dare to challenge the status quo. Dorch alleges that Platt threatened to fire her in April 2023, citing a violation of the city’s residency rule as a “pretextual” excuse. Dorch, 47, says it was part of a larger scheme to oust certain employees, particularly Black women like herself, through selective enforcement of the rule.

The lawsuit highlights alleged specific instances of selective enforcement of the residency requirement involving white employees. It cites Kathy Nelson (CEO of the nonprofit Kansas City Sports Commission) and Tim Dupin, Kansas City fire captain) were granted waivers or special arrangements, while Dorch, who owned a house in Lee’s Summit but maintained a Kansas City address, was targeted.

The lawsuit further states that Dorch’s efforts to ensure fair participation of minority- and women-owned businesses in city contracts, including an $800 million Meta data center development, were met with resistance and reprimand from Platt and other officials. Dorch claims that the city allowed the Meta project to proceed without the ordinary requirements for minority- and women-owned business participation despite her advocacy for compliance.

Dorch also says that private investigators hired by the city began to shadow her in January 2023, just three days after she’d received a reprimand letter from Platt. The lawsuit states that Dorch, unaware of the surveillance, became increasingly fearful as she noticed someone following her.

The single mother says in the lawsuit that it caused her distress and emotional anguish, according to The Kansas City Star: “As a single female with children, Plaintiff told her friends and others around her that she was fearful she was being followed and that someone was sitting outside her residence.”

Black civil rights leaders publicly denounced the surveillance and Dorch’s job loss last May in 2023, demanding Platt’s resignation for allowing a culture of discrimination to exist in city government. Platt has denied the accusations, while the city council recently voted to authorize the mayor to negotiate a renewal of Platt’s employment agreement.