A former top executive in the state land management bureaucracy is suing his ex-boss Dawn Chang and the Department of Land and Natural Resources alleging he was forced out of his job.

Former Land Administrator Russell Tsuji, a lawyer and veteran DLNR manager, alleges in his lawsuit filed Tuesday that DLNR Chair Chang showed “personal animus” against Tsuji, and referred to him as a mole for Big Island state Sen. Lorraine Inouye.

Tsuji filed a discrimination complaint against Chang in 2024, and the lawsuit alleges a pattern of escalating retaliation followed. That included Chang’s decision last year to strip Tsuji of his regular duties and assign him to personally conduct a “thorough site inspection” of more than 800 state properties.

The lawsuit describes that as an “impossible task” that amounted to a demotion without due process. It was “so unreasonable that even multiple land agents working together over years could not have completed it,” the lawsuit said.

Tsuji resigned, effective May 30, alleging in his departure notice that he was a victim of “constructive discharge,” meaning he was essentially forced to quit.

Andrew Laurence, communications director for DLNR, said it is the practice of the department to not comment on pending litigation. Chang is on medical leave, and attempts to reach her for comment by phone and email were unsuccessful.

Inouye said Thursday Tsuji told her about Chang’s mole comment, and said Tsuji seemed surprised Chang would call him that. Inouye said she has a working relationship with almost all of the administrators in the DLNR divisions, and “I just kind of felt very sorry for Russell.”

A Longtime Land Manager

DLNR’s Land Division oversees leases, licenses and other arrangements for the use of state lands, or holds properties as open space. Tsuji is a former deputy attorney general who ran the Land Division for two decades, and also served for a time as a member of the state Campaign Spending Commission.

Gov. Josh Green appointed Chang as chair of the Department of Land and Natural Resources — making her Tsuji’s boss — in late 2022. According to the lawsuit, Tsuji and Chang did not get along.

The lawsuit alleges that starting in early 2023, Chang “engaged in a pattern of conduct intended to embarrass, harass, and create a hostile and intolerable work environment” for Tsuji.

Chang repeatedly told Tsuji and other staff at weekly meetings that various people, including state senators, wanted him fired, according to the lawsuit, and described him as a “lightning rod” who should not be allowed to testify publicly at some legislative hearings.

She also allegedly told another DLNR executive Tsuji was a mole for Inouye, the Big Island senator, and made disparaging comments about Tsuji’s work and that of his staff, the lawsuit says. She also “consistently overrode” the recommendations of Tsuji and his staff.

Chang also “made it known on multiple occasions that she was proud to have her ‘whole crew’ and other board members as Native Hawaiians,” according to the lawsuit. “These statements were made in the presence of Mr. Tsuji and others who are not of Hawaiian descent.”

Downhill From There

Tsuji filed a discrimination complaint against Chang in early 2024 alleging harassment, a hostile work environment and disparate treatment based on race, gender, national origin and age.

According to the lawsuit, an investigation by the state Department of Human Resources Development confirmed some of the behavior Tsuji had complained about, but the human resources inquiry concluded there was insufficient evidence that the conduct amounted to violations of state equal opportunity policies.

Tsuji had suffered what is often called a warning stroke in 2021, and last year was granted a workplace accommodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act that included a hybrid telework schedule to help him manage his blood pressure. He also qualified for intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Three days after Tsuji’s accommodation was approved, according to the lawsuit, Chang relieved Tsuji of his regular duties and placed him on a special assignment that required extensive travel to each island to inspect hundreds of state properties.

“The size and the scope of the special assignment was unreasonable, even for a person without a disability,” the lawsuit alleges. It contends even district offices with multiple land agents had difficulty meeting the division’s goal of inspecting each leased property every two years.

The lawsuit describes that move by Chang as a demotion, and when Chang refused to reconsider, Tsuji submitted his departure notice alleging he was “being forced to end his employment with the department.”

The lawsuit alleges discrimination based on Tsuji’s disability, retaliation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violation of Hawaiʻi’s Whistleblower Protection Act. It seeks punitive and other damages, including lost pay and benefits or reinstatement.

“Mr. Tsuji dedicated twenty years of distinguished public service to managing Hawaiʻi’s state lands and deserved to be treated with fairness and dignity,” Tsuji’s lawyer Joseph Rosenbaum said in a written statement. “Instead, he was discriminated against and then retaliated against when he objected to the discriminatory treatment. We look forward to presenting the facts in Court.”