Unlawful discrimination, slander lawsuit against Macomb County, Prosecutor Peter Lucido

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido and the county have been hit with a new federal lawsuit, by a former assistant prosecutor applicant, alleging unlawful discrimination and slander.

Benjamin Deneweth, a former assistant prosecutor in Wayne County, applied for a job in Macomb County in July 2021, when three positions were available and later filled, according to his civil rights lawsuit filed last week in U.S. District Court.

Lucido, in a statement, said he did not discriminate against Deneweth and that Deneweth didn't score as high, overall, as other candidates. Macomb County's top attorney said the county takes the allegations seriously.

'Do you have a family?'

Deneweth stated that he interviewed with Lucido and a human resources employee July 22, 2021, and that Lucido unlawfully asked "suggestive, inappropriate and discriminatory questions including, 'Do you have a family?'" Deneweth answered that he was single. Lucido also commented on Deneweth's residency in Ferndale, stating that his wife gets pizza there, according to the complaint.

Subsequent to the interview, it states, Lucido made comments about Deneweth to a least two Macomb County assistant prosecutors and his comments "indicated that he perceived Plaintiff as homosexual due to Plaintiff's living arrangements, and, as a result, an undesirable candidate."

Deneweth was rejected for the position in August 2021 and learned Lucido hired three former co-workers from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office. Deneweth claimed at least two had "significantly less experience and/or qualifications" and at least two had a different marital status than he did.

In July 2022, Deneweth became aware of a report by Butzel Long law firm, which conducted an internal investigation of Lucido that concluded, among other things, that Lucido made inappropriate statements containing sexual comments and/or innuendo.

Lucido's attorney called the report "nothing more than collection of unchallenged complaints."

Plaintiff asked for a retraction three weeks before suing

Deneweth alleged the report revealed that Lucido "made further invidious and discriminatory commentsabout Plaintiff's real or perceived sexual orientation and real or perceived disability during or subsequent to the hiring process." Lucido was advised about Deneweth having a hearing disability, according to the Butzel Long memorandum.

Deneweth's complaint states that he served a letter to Lucido and the county on June 6 requesting retraction of the false statements about him, but they had declined or refused to so as of June 27, when his lawsuit was filed. It also states he filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint and received a right-to-sue letter.

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Lucido provided a statement regarding the lawsuit, saying: “The job interview about which Deneweth complains was attended by an HR specialist employed by Macomb County. If any inappropriate comments were made, the HR specialist would have immediately reported it."

It also stated each applicant was numerically rated by Lucido and the human resources specialist and the applicants with the highest combined scores were hired.

Lucido gave Deneweth the same rating as the highest-rated applicants, while the human resources specialist rated Deneweth lower than the three other applicants, according to the statement, which contained the applicant scores.

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“Mr. Deneweth was not discriminated against in the hiring process. He certainly was not discriminated against by Mr. Lucido," according to his statement.

"He was not hired because his overall score (which was not controlled by Mr. Lucido) was not as high as the other candidates."

Affidavit says Lucido called applicant 'odd'

Macomb County Corporation Counsel John Schapka said: "The county has reviewed the complaint and is taking the allegations seriously, and intends to vigorously represent its interests. At first blush, the allegations appear to be flawed and afford the county a viable defensive position."

A former Macomb County assistant prosecutor signed an affidavit with the lawsuit stating that he attended a meeting in 2021 where Lucido recalled the interviews with job applicants from Wayne County and described Deneweth as being "off" and "odd" and that he had a difficult time communicating with Deneweth because of his hearing disability.

"I'm talking to this guy, and he can't hear me," Lucido reportedly said during the meeting, per the affidavit signed by John Ange. "I'm thinking to myself, 'how is this guy going to do the job if he can't even hear me?' "

In January, a federal lawsuit was filed against Lucido by a former assistant prosecutor, who alleged his boss fired him as payback for cooperating with investigators in the Butzel Long probe and telling them Lucido engaged in sexual harassment and race, gender and disability discrimination in the workplace.

That same month, Lucido apologized for a social media post quoting Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on his birthday, adding that the post was “inappropriate.”

Contact Christina Hall: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @challreporter.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Macomb County, Prosecutor Peter Lucido hit with discrimination lawsuit