A former city utility worker has filed a civil rights lawsuit against Wildwood, demanding more than $500,000 in damages over allegations of racial discrimination, workplace harassment, and unlawful termination.
Ramon Rivera, a Sumter County resident, filed the lawsuit in the Fifth Judicial Circuit Court of Sumter County on June 23. According to the filing, Rivera was hired by the city as a C-Waste Water Operator on October 29, 2024. His duties centered on processing municipal wastewater, as well as ensuring proper treatment and disinfection in compliance with public health and environmental standards.
Rivera claims that during his employment, his direct supervisor, Wayne Bouchard, fostered a hostile work environment and treated him unfavorably compared to non-Hispanic employees. Rivera accuses Bouchard of discriminating against him due to his “national origin and/or race.”
The lawsuit notes that Rivera is of Puerto Rican descent.
Bouchard, who is the Water/Wastewater Operations Superintendent for Wildwood, allegedly gave different “job assignments” to Rivera that were worse than those given to his “white American” co-workers.
The lawsuit claims that when Rivera objected to Bouchard and accused him of discriminatory conduct, the supervisor became dismissive and actively refused to provide Rivera with necessary operational training and support.
The complaint then cites a series of incidents where Rivera’s supervisor allegedly issued “low level” alarm calls to bring him back to work while he was off duty. Rivera claims that whenever he arrived at the facility to resolve the issue, Bouchard was already on-site and had already cleared the system. He claims he did not receive instruction or training, and that Bouchard withheld technical guidance and subsequently filed false reports accusing Rivera of failing to respond to the alarms.
On June 23, 2025, the city terminated Rivera’s employment. Rivera claims he was terminated without prior warning or progressive discipline, despite having successfully completed his probationary period.
The complaint highlights that just two months prior to his termination, Rivera received the highest possible performance score for his six-month evaluation. Rivera asserts that the city’s stated reasons for his firing were pretextual and that non-Latino employees with multiple policy violations received milder verbal or written warnings rather than termination.
The five-count lawsuit charges the City of Wildwood with national origin discrimination, retaliation, and fostering a hostile work environment under the Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992. The complaint also accuses the city of race discrimination and retaliation under federal law (42 U.S.C. § 1981).
Rivera is seeking back pay, reinstatement or front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress, and attorney fees.