Riviera Beach's longtime chief financial officer has filed a federal lawsuit accusing city officials of racial discrimination and retaliation, claiming he was harassed and disciplined because he is white. Randy Sherman, who has served as the city's CFO for more than 14 years, alleges the hostility stemmed in part from a dispute with a city councilman over travel expense reimbursements.
Sherman filed the lawsuit on August 31 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, according to WPEC. He is asking for a jury trial, back pay, lost wages, compensatory damages, and a court order barring city officials and employees from further discrimination, harassment or retaliation against him. His complaint alleges a race and skin-color hostile work environment along with disparate treatment in disciplinary practices, claiming Black employees and officials received more favorable treatment when facing discipline.
At the center of the dispute is Councilman Bruce Guyton, who sought advance payment or reimbursement for travel expenses in June 2025. Per the station's report, Sherman explained the city's travel guidelines to Guyton and his assistant, including a policy that generally does not reimburse hotel stays for trips within a certain distance, bars mileage reimbursement for officials who already receive a vehicle allowance, and allows 10 days for payment processing. Sherman alleges Guyton responded by criticizing the travel policies and his handling of the request, then sent City Manager Jonathan Evans a memorandum attacking Sherman's conduct.
A Councilman's Alleged Pressure Campaign
Sherman's complaint alleges Guyton pressured Evans to discipline him and told staff they should carry out his directives simply because he is the boss, regardless of city policy — a claim echoed in the lawsuit's account of Guyton saying he did not have to follow city policy. Evans reportedly instructed Sherman to accommodate Guyton within city guidelines. Sherman alleges Guyton discussed the travel dispute publicly during a city council meeting and referenced Sherman's race in that setting, and that Guyton at one point hung up on him during a call.
Beyond the travel fight, Sherman alleges city officials and employees repeatedly referred to him as a white man and falsely accused him of racism. Mayor Douglas Lawson is alleged to have cited concerns about Sherman's professionalism, respect, decorum and leadership. Sherman was suspended for three business days without pay in September 2025 following a separate dispute with a consultant over a police union contract, and the city council later voted to uphold that suspension; Sherman alleges the discipline was racially discriminatory and that he was required to attend anger management training as part of it.
Overlapping Claims With the Former HR Director
Sherman's lawsuit also names the city's former Human Resources and Risk Management director, Tennille DeCoste, alleging she and others retaliated against him after he raised concerns about hiring practices. According to reporting cited by Particle, Sherman's complaint alleges DeCoste bypassed city hiring rules by creating unadvertised positions for personal acquaintances, improperly promoting an employee who then hired DeCoste's own husband, and misrepresenting candidate qualifications. DeCoste was placed on administrative leave in March 2024.
The conflict between Sherman and DeCoste appears to have run in both directions. Before her termination, DeCoste filed internal complaints against Sherman in December 2023 accusing him of workplace infractions, including altering an employee's overtime records, as reported by The Boca Raton Tribune. DeCoste has since pursued her own federal discrimination lawsuit against a former municipal employer.
Notice-of-Claim Letters Reveal Earlier Pressure
Sherman's federal filing follows a January 2026 notice-of-claim letter in which he sought $500,000 from the city to settle his discrimination and retaliation claims before heading to court, according to Particle. Florida law requires such notice before a lawsuit can proceed against a municipality. Separately, Guyton sent his own notice-of-claim letter demanding that Evans deal with Sherman over the finance policy dispute or face professional consequences, a threat first detailed by reporting compiled by journalist Ethan Stein.
Evans, the city manager caught between the two sides, has his own history of litigation against Riviera Beach. He previously sued the city for employment discrimination following his 2017 termination, receiving a $190,000 settlement and reinstatement in 2019, according to a report from CM News. The city council voted 3-2 in April 2026 not to renew his contract.
Sherman's Role in a $665 Million Rebuild
Sherman has spent much of his tenure managing financial structuring for Reimagine Riviera Beach, a $665 million municipal rebuild project that includes $115 million in proposed voter-approved bond issues for new civic facilities, according to Stet News. The outlet has described the initiative as the largest municipal capital buildout in Palm Beach County in decades, underscoring how central Sherman's role has been to the city's finances over his 14 years in the position.
His lawsuit lands amid a wider federal law enforcement probe touching Riviera Beach's leadership. FBI subpoenas have involved the mayor and council members and sought records related to marina redevelopment, per Stet News. That investigation temporarily halted major developments including Marina Village. In August, Lanier sent a six-page letter to colleagues acknowledging, “The FBI is targeting CRA projects, and I am caught in their net,” while seeking assistance with legal fees, Stet News reported.
Riviera Beach has faced judicial findings of unlawful workplace retaliation before. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld a jury verdict against the city in a Title VII retaliation case, Ladi March Goldwire v. City of Riviera Beach, in January 2023 — a case in which Sherman himself testified about Goldwire's starting pay, according to Justia Law. Riviera Beach is a predominantly Black municipality in Palm Beach County, with Black or African American residents making up roughly 63.1% of its population and white residents comprising about 19.1% — context that frames Sherman's claim that he faced discrimination as a white man in city government.
