A matter-of-fact vote Thursday by Somerville city councilors appropriated $2.5 million to settle a 2021 lawsuit race discrimination lawsuit by three former Public Works employees.
The Middlesex Superior Court suit said Richard Nurse, the highway department’s first Black foreman, was called the N-word and “monkey” by supervisors and deprived of the tools needed to lead the work of his tree crews.
Nurse suffered the abuse for seven years, during which time white colleagues Ronald Bonney and Michael Browne complained to supervisors about the racist behavior and were retaliated against, according to the suit. An investigation against Bonney and Browne on allegations they were raiding the city “snow budget” remains with the state Inspector General’s Office, according to a 2024 filing…