Estero man claims race, age bias against Habitat for Humanity International

A 52-year-old white man from Lee County claims he was a victim of racial, age and other illegal discrimination while working for Habitat for Humanity International from his Estero home between 2015 and 2017.

Robert Derrick Morris worked for the organization's Georgia-based international parent entity for 10 years with the second of two employment stints ending in August 2017.

Morris filed a discrimination complaint against Habitat in federal court in Fort Myers in response to a lawsuit filed by Habitat against Morris claiming improper use of a company expense account. Habitat is seeking $77,000 in damages.

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In addition to the international organization, Habitat operates 1,500 local affiliates in the U.S., including Habitat for Humanity of Lee and Hendry Counties and Habitat for Humanity of Collier County. The local groups are not involved in either lawsuit.

Habitat claims Morris improperly charged expenses on a company credit card, put personal mileage on a Habitat-owned truck and received $14,000 in severance payments to which he was not entitled.

Morris worked remotely from his Estero home as director of construction and safety from June 2015 until August 2017 when he resigned after being questioned about expense charges on the organization's credit cards.

He told The News-Press in a phone interview that the questioning, from his newly appointed supervisor, made it clear he had no future with Habitat.

"I believe that I was being passed over for promotion, passed over for opportunities for growth because I was an experienced, white, conservative male," Morris said. "As a white male, I  was treated different because I was in a different class — I was not a woman, I was not a person of color, I was not a person of a particular political group or gender identity."

An attorney for Habitat's international organization denied the discrimination charge in a court conference Monday, telling a U.S. magistrate judge the allegations are "conclusory" because no specific facts or incidents of discrimination are offered to support the broadly stated claim. 

Habitat calls Morris' countersuit an effort to confuse issues the organization raised when it sued Morris. 

"We categorically deny the baseless allegations made by a former employee whom we have sued for alleged misappropriation of funds," said Bryan Thomas, a spokesman for Habitat for Humanity International.  "As a nonprofit organization dedicated to a world where everyone has a decent place to live, we maintain the highest expectations of stewardship and service. We will aggressively defend ourselves in court and are confident we will prevail."

While claiming he was discriminated against, partly on account of race, Morris said his complaint is based more on what he sees as practices that devalue the contributions of older white men.

"Let me be very clear on this that I am not raising a specific claim that blacks were treated better," Morris said.

Habitat's attorney, Shane Munoz of the Tampa employment law firm Ford & Harrison, told U.S. Magistrate Judge Mac McCoy at a preliminary pretrial conference Monday that Morris' discrimination claim was filed too late to be considered by the court.

Federal law limits filing workplace discrimination cases to 300 days following the last discriminatory act alleged in the complaint, he said. Morris filed his discrimination claim in court more than 700 days after he left the Habitat payroll.

After Morris left the organization, its internal auditors began a closer look at his use of company expense cards and other financial uses. 

Besides alleging Morris improperly used his company credit card, Habitat is seeking reimbursement for depreciation on the value of a company truck Habitat claims Morris used for personal travel.

Habitat also wants to be repaid for a $14,000 severance payment the company says Morris obtained by false pretense and for pay Morris received during a vacation that Habitat claims Morris took without filing paperwork to remove the vacation days from his annual allotment.

Lawyers for Habitat filed the case against Morris in Georgia state court last November. It was then sent to federal court, first in Atlanta, and then transferred to U.S. District Court in Fort Myers.

Thomas, the Habitat spokesman, did not directly address whether Habitat's allegations were reported to a law enforcement agency.

"Habitat has chosen to pursue this matter in a civil court,"  he said in an emailed response to questions from The News-Press.

After the internal audit, a letter demanding repayment of more than $77,000 was sent to Morris in June 2018, nearly 10 months after his employment ended. Habitat filed suit five months later.

"The company tried to resolve the matter informally, but Mr. Morris declined to do so," Munoz told McCoy, the judge presiding at Monday's preliminary pretrial conference.

Specific claims of improper expenditures include auditors' accusations that Morris used a company truck to travel 9,000 miles on personal trips, reducing its value; charged gas for trips with "no discernible connection" to Habitat; and used the company charge card for vacations in Canada and Italy; for $784 for spa services at an Orlando hotel, and for travel to New Orleans for a cruise.

Morris denies the allegations.

"I dispute everything about them," Morris said. "Everything I did when I was with Habitat was done in accordance with policies and procedures followed throughout my tenure there."

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He explains the spa billing as a reward for two volunteers and an employee for exemplary work in a fundraising effort. 

The travel, Morris said, is based in part on his work as director of construction and safety in support of fundraising efforts. 

"It was my responsibility to be engaged with more than 1,300 affiliates around the country," Morris said. "I traveled significantly to meet with them and greet with them."

Morris claims he received good performance reviews for his work but was not considered for promotion during a reorganization. 

"There were several senior director roles being put in place and I was told I was not going to be considered," Morris said. "It had been my experience and my observation over the course of that seven-year period when I was at Habitat for that second term that white males, especially conservative males like myself ... were being passed over."

He worked two stints at Habitat, from 2002 until 2005, and then from 2010 until August 2017. 

Morris signed a severance agreement barring him from bringing any claims against Habitat in return for a $14,000 severance payment on the day it was presented to him. By signing immediately, he chose not to take advantage of a 21-day window to consider the implications and seek legal advice. 

"He claims discrimination on race, color, and age — all are claims he released in the separation agreements," Munoz, Habitat's attorney, said at Monday's preliminary pretrial conference.

Morris' lawyer, Bernard Mazaheri of Kentucky, said the separation agreement provision releasing all potential claims against Habitat lost its validity when Habitat sued Morris.