TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A discrimination lawsuit filed against the Topeka Zoo by a veterinarian goes to trial this week.
Veterinarian Shirley Yeo Llizo alleges in the lawsuit that she was fired from the zoo in 2009 because she is a female of Chinese ancestry who is a naturalized U.S. citizen. She alleges the city did not fire American-born employees of different race and/or gender.
The city has denied the allegations.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Llizo got her job back in 2010, after an arbitrator ruled the city should not have dismissed her.
Former Topeka city manager Norton Bonaparte and former zoo director Mike Coker are scheduled to testify in the trial in federal court in Kansas City, Kan. It starts Tuesday and is expected to last about a week.
