Allentown officials say they intend to file a motion of no-confidence in Mayor Matt Tuerk’s leadership following news that he approved the termination of a city employee who called for an investigation into claims about misconduct and discrimination at City Hall this year.
“There has to be a vote of no-confidence at this point,” Councilman Ed Zucal told lehighvalleylive.com.
A no-confidence vote by city council would not remove the mayor from office, according to municipal governance law. “It would just send a statement,” Zucal said. The vote could happen as early as next Wednesday, he said.
A spokesperson for Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk confirmed that the city did fire the city’s benefits manager Karen Ocasio on Monday. The reason behind her termination was not immediately provided when requested on Tuesday.
“As Mayor, I have a duty to ensure a good working environment for all employees so that we may continue to provide high quality city services to our residents and stakeholders. I don’t participate in retaliatory practices and I don’t have tolerance for it either. Since these are personnel matters, we have no additional comment at this time,” Tuerk said in a statement.
In a statement, Zucal called Ocasio’s firing “an act of revenge.” He said Ocasio had just filed a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission prior to her termination.
Ocasio has filed multiple complaints to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission regarding the issue, she alleged in September. She also told city council members at the time that she’d been a target of prejudice and discrimination since she started her job in 2018.
“From personal experience I can tell you this is going on, even to the point that when I first started I was told where the manager sits is called the ‘United States’ and where administration sits is called ‘Mexico’,” she told council in September.
Ocasio was employed by the city for five years, according to a Linkedin profile registered to her. Her resume says she began working for the city as a clerk in 2018 prior to serving as a human resources coordinator in 2020 and then as benefits manager for the city in 2022.
She did not immediately respond to requests for comment by lehighvalleylive.com on Tuesday.
A third party could also be called to investigate widespread claims about misconduct and prejudice across all levels of City Hall as early as next year, officials announced in October, following outcry by members of the public and other city employees.
Proponents of the investigation claim City Hall leaders are complicit in discriminatory behavior and perpetuate a culture of prejudice against minority employees. A letter lodged by the Allentown NAACP chapter in July and the subsequent firing of the city’s second HR director Nadeem Eli Shahzad have further propelled speculation about the city’s practices.
According to reports, Shahzad was quoted saying disagreements with Tuerk and his handling of racism allegations in city hall led to his ouster.
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Glenn Epps can be reached at gepps@lehighvalleylive.com or glenn_epps_on Twitter.
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