Colorado forced out the longtime head of its department for the deaf and hard of hearing because he was “too close” to his own community, the ex-leader alleges in a federal lawsuit.
Cliff Moers, who is deaf and spent nearly two decades with the , alleges management within the humiliated him, discriminated against him and stripped him of his professional dignity towards the end of his tenure.
In the complaint, filed in September in U.S. District Court in Denver but not previously reported, Moers said he warned leadership in 2022 that the department risked running out of funds to provide critical services to Colorado’s deaf community. To cut costs, management told him to suspend legal interpreting and translation services for rural areas, Moers alleged.
These services, however, are required under the . This put Moers in an “untenable situation,” he said in the lawsuit: either violate federal law or go against his directives.
Ultimately, the department ended up overspending to provide those accommodations, prompting disciplinary action for Moers and his staff, according to the lawsuit.
The following year, amid further budgetary issues, a department outreach consultant mistakenly told vendors and members of the deaf community that services were going to be definitively stopped, instead of telling them there was simply the potential for a temporary suspension of services, the complaint states.
Human services leadership, in December 2023, got word that the state legislature would be considering additional funding for the commission “due to pressure” from the deaf community and their advocates, according to the lawsuit.
The leak caused consternation from department brass, Moers alleged, who were not happy that his commission had circumvented proper channels to receive emergency funding. The higher-ups believed Moers to be the culprit due to his “being too close” to the deaf community, the suit alleges.
Soon after, leadership demoted Moers from his director position. In July 2024, he resigned, saying he felt like he could no longer work for the agency he had built from the ground up.
“This experience was incredibly difficult for me,” Moers told The Denver Post in an email Thursday. “I’ve always believed in the mission of empowering others, especially in my own community, which is why what happened felt so personal. To feel dismissed and judged by the very department thatap supposed to uphold those values, especially within a department that often struggled with consistent standards and efficiency, was deeply upsetting.”
What made it harder, he said, was how his situation was characterized.
“It didn’t reflect who I am or the work I’ve done over the years to build the division, and that took a real toll on me, both professionally and personally. It eroded my confidence in a way I didn’t expect,” he wrote.
Department of Human Services officials declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. In court filings, the agency denied Moer’s allegations and argued he voluntarily resigned from his position.
Moers has long been one of Colorado’s most prominent advocates for the deaf.
He founded the , a preschool through 12th-grade charter school in Denver, and previously served as the president of the .
News of the lawsuit comes at a turbulent time for the Department of Human Services.
Current and former workers at the Behavioral Health Administration alleged a toxic and unsafe work environment under former commissioner Dannette Smith, The Post reported in February. The state hired an outside firm to investigate one incident in which Smith referenced “cutting their throats” to staff.
Earlier this year, the state once again hired an external organization to probe complaints about the Department of Human Services’ leadership amid high turnover, a cascade of formal complaints and millions of dollars in settlements with departing staff, The Post reported this week.
The newspaper found the department had paid out nearly $3 million to settle claims with employees over pay, age, gender and disability discrimination, whistleblower protection violations, and retaliatory firings, among other accusations.
