TAOS — The story of Taos' Whitten Inn (formerly the Paragon Inn) has garnered national attention this week with the publication of a piece by the Associated Press after months of coverage from The Taos News.

Now an Albuquerque attorney says he will likely be taking seven former employees as clients and seeking to recover damages from hotel owner Larry Whitten. Dennis Montoya said he will meet with the employees this weekend to discuss taking them on; he said he may work for them on contingency, seeking damages and attorney's fees from Whitten if he is able to win the case.

He said the loss of a job, especially in a small Northern New Mexico town such as Taos, is a "substantial disrupter to a person's life."

"In Northern New Mexico, job loss is not a small thing," he said. "It is a difficult economy."

Former hotel employees and their supporters began protesting in front of the hotel in August, saying they believed they were fired because they are Hispanic and complaining about some of Whitten's policies. Whitten did not return a message requesting comment, but he has said in previous interviews that he asked employees not to speak Spanish in front of him and told some of them with names he found difficult to understand to change them: Martín was to go by "Martin," and Marcos was to be known to hotel guests as "Mark."

Former employee Michelle Martínez complained that Whitten called her "buckwheat" several times before she was terminated via a voice mail message left for her on a day off. Whitten has denied the firings were racially motivated and has defended the controversial policies as standard business practice. Local attorney Alan Maestas is representing Whitten; he said Whitten is now trying to "get the hotel on its feet" and is willing to meet with the protesters to smooth things over.

"The invitation's out there to sit and talk and work through the problems," he said.

Last month, Whitten said he planned to sell the inn and leave Taos as soon as he finished renovations. More recently he said business is picking up and he plans to stay. Maestas said the initial "backlash" to his presence in Taos left Whitten with a bad taste in his mouth, but he has gotten to know the community better since August.

"I think he's seen that there's another side to Taos," he said.

Maestas said the ball is now in the protesters' court. The League of United Latin American Citizens has been involved in the controversy since early on. State Director Paul Martínez said the organization is planning a demonstration and press conference at 11 a.m. Nov. 14.

Paul Martínez also said he has been in contact with the federal Department of Justice, which he is urging to act as a mediator in the dispute. He said LULAC will not get involved with individual plaintiffs' cases against Whitten. Rather, Paul Martínez said the organization will focus on defusing tensions within the community.

"We have to represent our community's interest," he said. "I'm getting calls off the hook."

Montoya said if he takes on the former employees' cases, he will likely seek attorney's fees on top of damages consistent with the economic, social and psychological impacts of their terminations. He said Whitten's policies "blatantly violate" antidiscrimination laws by forcing employees to choose between their jobs and their identities.

"That's a pretty horrible thing to have happen," he said.

Montoya said he will likely bring the cases under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the New Mexico Human Rights Act, which makes it illegal for employers in the state to discriminate or discharge employees based on race, age, religion or similar factors.

For more of The Taos News' coverage on this incident go to www.taosnews.com