DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A jury has found that the longtime top lawyer for the Iowa Department of Corrections did not suffer workplace discrimination due to his age and Hispanic ethnicity.
A Polk County jury last week found that Michael Savala did not prove that his treatment under the department's former director was discrimination based on age, race, color or national origin.
Savala has been with the department that operates Iowa's prisons for more than two decades. Savala filed a lawsuit in 2019 alleging that former department director Jerry Bartruff treated him less favorably than younger white employees. He alleged that Bartruff did not complete Savala's job performance reviews for 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, even though they are required under Iowa code, costing him thousands of dollars in wages.
