City seeks to settle ex-labor chief Andre Forde’s lawsuit

BRIDGEPORT — The municipal law department is asking the City Council to approve a $57,711 legal settlement with Andre Forde, who was fired last summer after less than two months running the labor relations office.

According to the memorandum City Attorney Mark Anastasi recently forwarded council members, $53,711.54 of that amount would go to Forde and $4,000 worth of fees or costs to Willinger, Willinger & Bucci, the firm representing his wrongful termination lawsuit.

The council’s miscellaneous matters committee will take up the proposed settlement Monday. If authorized, it will then require a vote of the full council.

Mayor Joe Ganim announced Forde’s hiring last June 2 and his start date was June 27. He replaced Eric Amado, who last winter was instead put in charge of the civil service/personnel department.

Labor relations is a key office because it is closely involved in city union contract negotiations. According to the press release announcing Forde’s arrival, he had “more than a decade of experience” in human resources and union negotiations, including as labor relations director for the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation.

But by late August, just short of his two-month anniversary, Forde was abruptly out. The Ganim administration did not provide a reason publicly. When reached at the time by phone, Forde had declined comment but indicated he would be seeking legal counsel.

According to the lawsuit he and his attorney, Thomas Bucci, filed in Connecticut Superior Court last October, Forde, though a probationary employee, was denied his due process rights to a fair hearing before the civil service commission.

The lawsuit further stated that Forde last Aug. 22 was “summoned” to a meeting with Janene Hawkins, who as Ganim’s chief administrative officer helps to manage City Hall and its various other departments, during which she inquired about the status of Forde’s newborn child before telling him he “is not working out” and indicating she would be “open” to extending his benefits.

“Unless terminating the plaintiff’s employment, Hawkins would have no reason to extend the plaintiff’s health benefits,” the lawsuit stated. “In response to Hawkins’ statement, the plaintiff, clearly recognizing that he was being terminated, asserted that Hawkins’ decision did not reflect an in-depth, objective review of his suitability for the director of labor relations position, especially since Hawkins’ decision to discharge him was reached in less than sixty days. Hawkins’ reply to being professionally challenged by the plaintiff was to recite a fictitious list of the plaintiff ’s alleged deficiencies.”

The lawsuit did not detail said deficiencies.

But, according to additional court documents, last Nov. 7 the civil service commission, following requests by Bucci, held a hearing on Forde’s termination and denied his reinstatement.

According to Anastasi’s recent settlement memorandum to the City Council, Forde “voluntarily resigned his employment when it became apparent he was ‘not a good fit’ for the position.” And, Anastasi wrote, “The civil service commission supported defendant’s (the city’s) legal position.”

“Nevertheless,” Anastasi wrote, “in order to avoid the vagaries, risk and costs of litigation, the parties in their mutual best interests agreed to this global settlement that resolved their pending legal disputes.”

Bucci declined comment on the pending settlement.

Forde’s is just one of a handful of high-profile incidents where the Ganim administration has been accused of breaking Bridgeport’s personnel policies.

In 2020, the city agreed to pay James Nardozzi a $160,000 settlement on his lawsuit claiming civil service rules were violated when Ganim fired him in early 2016 as assistant police chief.

In November 2021, a judge ruled the city violated the municipal charter when in 2019 then-Police Capt. Rebeca Garcia was chosen by the mayor to serve as assistant police chief. Garcia retired late last year after being passed over by Ganim for the permanent job of top cop, even though she ranked the number one finalist following a national search..

Most recently, Maria Pires, a veteran employee of the tax assessor’s office, hired Bucci after she claimed that, like Forde, she was fired last December without being granted a due process hearing. Also like in Forde’s situation, Pires, after obtaining an attorney, was granted a hearing by the civil service commission and refired.

She recently filed a federal lawsuit alleging she was terminated for supporting John Gomes’ bid to challenge Ganim in this year’s mayoral election.