CHARLES TOWN – An Army veteran says he was the victim of discrimination by a West Virginia-based school that has “it roots in the military.”
Mark Riccardi filed his complaint in Jefferson Circuit Court against West Virginia-based American Public University System Inc. doing business as American Military University and American Public Education Inc. The complaint says the defendants are based in Charles Town.
According to his complaint, Riccardi served in the U.S. Army for 21 years, reaching the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Riccardi, who lives in Colorado, served as an intelligence officer and was in combat in Afghanistan in 2003. He has a doctorate in education from Colorado State University, a master’s in criminal justice and a master’s in education. He also has a master’s in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.
Riccardi says he was hired by the defendants in 2012 and served as dean of the School of Security and Global Studies. He traveled to Charles Town for some of his duties. He was paid about $154,000 a year plus benefits, according to the complaint.
Because of his combat experience, he says he was diagnosed with anxiety and other physical disabilities such as numbness in his arms and neck. He is disabled, according to the Veteran’s Administration and the West Virginia Human Rights Act.
In 2019, Riccardi says he was told by a co-worker that Provost Vernon Smith was bragging that he was replacing employees with military service with “traditional academics” without a military background. He says he saw such employees in administrative positions being replaced either by discharge or demotion.
“Several of plaintiff’s colleagues with prior military service came to him with reports of unfair treatment and feeling as though they were being pushed out of the institution,” the complaint states. “He believed that there was a pattern of discrimination and unfair treatment against military-associated/former military employees by defendants.”
On August 1, 2019, Riccardi says he complained about this discrimination against former military employees to President and CEO Wallace Boston. He also said he felt Smith was asking him to violate ethical standards by asking him to scrutinize and write a disciplinary report about a faculty member with prior military service.
Riccardi says the discriminatory acts continued through 2020 and 2021, but he says the defendants took no action to stop it.
On February 23, 2022, Smith suspended Riccardi, saying a “change in leadership” was needed. He believes he was one of the few employees left with a military background, saying at least a dozen veterans already had been removed from their positions. Riccardi eventually was fired.
He says he believes he was fired because of his disability, his age, his military service and in retaliation for speaking out against the defendants’ alleged discriminatory practices.
Riccardi accuses the defendants of violating the WVHRA by discriminating against him because of his age and disability. He also says they violated other state laws, including the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act of 1994 and discrimination based on his veteran status.
A spokesman for the defendants said they don’t comment on pending litigation.
Riccardi says he has suffered lost wages, emotional distress, humiliation, aggravation, embarrassment, anxiety, annoyance, inconvenience and mental anguish. He seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, court costs, pre- and post-judgment interests and other relief.
He is being represented by Kristina Thomas Whiteaker of the Grubb Law Group in Charleston and by John Einreinhofer of the Law Offices of John Einreinhofer in Charleston.
Jefferson Circuit Court case number 22-C-96