JACKSON, Mich. — A deputy warden at the Charles E. Egeler Reception and Guidance Center near Jackson is suing the Michigan Department of Corrections alleging age discrimination and cronyism.
Kim Cargor, 61, was hired in October 1985 as a correctional officer.
Over the next three decades and across seven different facilities, she worked her way up to deputy warden and spent six months as an acting warden.
But in a complaint filed in March in Washtenaw County Circuit Court, her lawyer Jon Marko says she has been passed over for promotions ever since.
“You can maybe explain a way a one-off here or a one-off there,” he said. “But, when there is a pattern of practice of this type of behavior and conduct by corrections, you have it occurring over a long period of time, and you have a historical and systematic discrimination going on we believe that violates that law.”
In 2015, she applied to be the senior executive warden at the Egeler Reception and Guidance Center. The department went elsewhere and hired a younger man.
According to the official complaint, Cargor had 20 years more experience than Jeremy Bush, the man who got the job. Prior to his promotion, Bush spent one year at the rank of inspector while Cargor had been deputy warden, three levels higher, for 11 years.
According to the complaint, it would happen again. Five more times.
Cargor applied for the warden position at the Parnall Correctional Facility in 2017, the Branch County Lakeland Correctional Facility and the Cooper Street Correctional Facility in February 2020 and once again at Parnall in April 2021.
Each time she applied she was interviewed but the department picked someone younger with less experience.
“I think she struggled with this for a long time because she had seen kind of a cascade of opportunities slip through her fingers,” Marko said. “It became more clear to her over time that it wasn’t because she wasn’t deserving of these positions it’s because of discriminatory reasons that she wasn’t receiving these positions and I think she struggled with whether to give up and kind of retire early or to do something about it.”
From September 2020 through April 2021, Cargor served as acting warden at the Egeler Reception and Guidance Center. Bush had been promoted in October 2020 leaving a vacancy.
In April 2021, the complaint states the department did not post the vacancy and appointed a white man to the position returning Cargor to her position as deputy warden.
“Miss Cargor was off the charts on all of these guideposts that Corrections has indicated that it coveted or that it wanted for this type of position,” Marko said.
The complaint states she has never received a negative performance review nor had any disciplinary action against her.
“The 30 plus years that she’s worked there she hasn’t been a complainer,” Marko said. “This was not a decision she took lightly but it’s not just about her, it’s about making sure that as she lives out these last years of career with the Michigan Department of Corrections that maybe she can make a difference so this won’t happen to other people going forward.”
Cargor believes the discrimination stems from systemic cronyism within the department. Her attorney says it’s not just her perception.
The complaint states the department employs 30 senior executive wardens; 23 are white, 19 are men, 16 of whom are white. Only one is a black woman.
“A lot of these decisions are made behind closed doors. There’s a pre-selection process," Marko said. “So, on paper they’ll say this is a fair and neutral process that has all these checks and balances when in reality many times someone’s already made a decision behind a closed door and they just go through the motions to give the decision a stamp of authenticity or the auspices of it being a neutral process when it’s not at all.”
The complaint states the Department of Corrections is in violation of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act saying the department has shown disparate treatment to Cargor through Race, Sex and Age.
Attorneys representing Cargor are waiting for a response from the Michigan Department of Corrections. According to Washtenaw County Circuit Court, a Stipulated Order was filed on March 29.
Jon Marko is the principal attorney at Marko Law who practices in civil rights issues and employment litigation.
Representatives from the Michigan Department of Corrections declined to comment.
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
