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Two former female employees of Goodpasture Christian School, Karen Farley and Dianne Sturdivant, have filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against the school’s President, Ricky Perry. Allegedly, Perry created a hostile work environment for the female employees of the school. He would continuously call the female employees out for having “too much estrogen.” Perry would also make discriminatory comments against women by saying female employees should leave certain tasks to for a man to take care of, and that they should go get their nails done.

According to the lawsuit, Perry would frequently call himself a “knight in shining armor” because he claims the female employees were too emotional to adequately handle families. Both Farley and Sturdivant reported the alleged behaviors to the Board of Directors for the school, however, no action was taken. Both women felt that they were given no choice but to put in their resignation.

Farley and Sturdivant are seeking over two million dollars in damages, and they have put in a request to have a jury hear their case. Goodpasture Christian School has denied the claims made in their lawsuit.

If you feel that you have been sexually harassed, or you have been discriminated against because of your gender and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.

Elizabeth Hansen, the former city administrator of Windsor Heights, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit after she was terminated for showing support of employees complaining of a hostile and abusive work environment. Hansen is suing the city and city council members including Threase Harms, Zac Bales-Henry, Mike Jones, Joseph Jones, and Michael Loffredo.

Hansen’s lawsuit alleges that Harms attempted to bully city employees at council meetings, and that she made the work environment so hostile that two separate complaints were filed. Hansen notified the city attorney as well as the mayor of several occasions where bullying, discrimination, and harassment violations occurred.

Hansen also informed the city attorney and mayor of illegal meetings that were happening in order to retaliate against her for supporting the complaints. Her lawsuit is seeking damages for lost wages, emotional distress, and lost earning capacity.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated or retaliated against and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.

Upper-level employees of the Department of Public Safety who were allegedly forced out of their positions are planning to fight back. Three leaders of DPS, former Public Safety Commissioner Rusty Rhoades, former Chief of the Patrol Michael S. Harrell, and former Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel Megan Simpson have all notified the state of Oklahoma that they are planning to sue DPS for wrongful termination.

Governor Kevin Sitt replaced the DPS Commissioner as well as the two other top leaders for allegedly not getting certain projects done, one of which being the issue of Real IDs. The attorney of Rhoades, Harrell, and Simpson has said his clients were retaliated against when they attempted to investigate potentially unlawful behavior in their own department that had occurred earlier on in the year. A former trooper in the department was accused of blackmailing Rhoades, and he was indicted, but the Attorney General’s office dismissed the case. Rhoades, Harrell, and Simpson wanted to keep it going even after the Attorney General’s office claimed that the DPS is who requested the case be dismissed. A few months later, Rhoades, Harrell, and Simpson were all wrongfully terminated at DPS.

In the wrongful termination claim, Rhodes, Harrell, and Simpson are claiming that Sitt does not hold the power to fire Simpson and Harrell under state statute since the commissioner is the only one who handles those positions. The former leaders are asking for a maximum amount of $175,000 each.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated or retaliated against and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.

Terri Wall, a former female sales clerk for the Alamance Municipal ABC Board, filed a wrongful termination and gender discrimination lawsuit against the board. Before Wall was terminated, she worked in her position as sales clerk for 8 years. Wall believes she was terminated because she took “mini-bottles provided by distributors to the stores, and solicited items from distributors for a charity.” However, she claims these actions were supported by members of the board, and that they were aware she was doing it.

In her lawsuit, Wall alleges she was terminated on the basis of sex, alleging that her male co-workers would drink alcohol while on the job, sell alcohol to minors, and take part in inappropriate behavior directed towards female co-workers and customers. The lawsuit also claims that two of the male employees regularly discriminated against Wall, and that the behavior was ignored by supervisors. One of the incidents involved a male employee, referred to as Mr. P in the lawsuit, where he put his hands on Wall’s hips “from behind in a sexual manner.”

Wall reported multiple incidents to the general manager, which were brushed off and made to seem like they were minor issues. Another male employee at the store, known as Mr. S in the lawsuit, allegedly took photos of female customers he found attractive in the store he worked at. Mr. S also photographed their backsides and breasts when they weren’t aware he was doing so.

Despite these behaviors, neither of the male employees were terminated for their inappropriate behavior. Wall, on the other hand, believes she was wrongfully terminated and that she was discriminated against because of her gender due to the lenient treatment of the male employees in comparison to the treatment of the female employees.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated, or you have been discriminated against because of your gender and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.

Jerome Felder, a former employee of Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office in Orangeburg, South Carolina, recently received a payout after suing the office in 2017 for wrongful termination and defamation.

Felder began working for the sheriff’s office in 1991 where he was promoted to the rank of sergeant. According to the lawsuit, in June of 2016, a woman filed a complaint against Felder with the sheriff’s office. She alleged that he told her to “shut up” when he had an interaction with her on the telephone. A few months later, the woman, only identified by initials “RP,” denied the incident had even taken place. Despite this information, Felder was placed on unpaid suspension for almost a week, and was then demoted to deputy. His salary was also reduced by almost $4,000 per year less than what he was receiving before the incident.

In January of 2017, Felder was terminated from his position by Sheriff Leroy Ravenell. Attorneys filed Felder’s lawsuit on his behalf for wrongful termination and defamation in December of 2017, and Felder received $25,000 for the lawsuit.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.

Graham Chase Robinson, a former employee of Robert De Niro and his company, Canal Productions, is countersuing him and the company for sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and retaliation after they filed a lawsuit two months ago alleging misuse of company credit cards and embezzlement. Robinson began working for De Niro in 2008 as an executive assistant, which eventually lead to her being a de facto head of operations for Canal Productions. In 2017, she was named the vice president of production and finance, and then resigned from the position this past April.

In August, Canal Productions filed a $6 million lawsuit claiming breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, fraud, and breach of duty of loyalty against Robinson. The suit alleges that Robinson used a corporate credit card to charged thousands of dollars for personal use, and that she used the Canal Productions’ frequent flyer points to take personal trips amounting to $125,000. The company alleges Robinson’s resignation came after she heard suspicion was arising about her integrity and work ethic at the company.

Robinson’s $12 million countersuit denies every accusation Canal Productions and De Niro have made. Her lawsuit alleges her 11-year employment with De Niro lead to gender discrimination, wage violations, and harassment. Robinson has stated she believes De Niro filed a fraudulent lawsuit because she informed his company of her plans to sue them when she resigned from her position.

De Niro allegedly put Robinson into stereotypically female roles, such as mending his clothes, vacuuming his apartment, and more. Allegedly, she also worked a minimum of 20-30 hours a week of unpaid overtime hours, and she was paid less than male employees. Robinson has also stated in her lawsuit that De Niro would behave in a “demeaning and inappropriate” manner toward her throughout her entire employment with his company. An irate voicemail left by De Niro on Robinson’s phone has been presented by Robinson’s lawyers as an example of the harassment and the hostile work environment Robinson resigned from. Robinson claims De Niro’s lawsuit is baseless and is only intended to muddy her name, thus preventing her from continuing work in the industry.

If you feel that you have been sexually harassed, or you have been discriminated against because of your gender and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.

Rachel Francois, a clerk at Southwestern College for 12 years, is suing the college, along with a co-worker, for alleged discrimination due to her religion and sexual orientation. Francois identifies as both a Christian and a lesbian, which her co-worker, Norma Rich, had issues with. Rich, who also identifies as a Christian, believed Francois’ sexual orientation directly contradicted her religious beliefs.

In the spring of 2012, Francois ran into Rich while she was shopping with her partner, which led to Rich bringing up unwanted remarks about Francois’ sexual orientation, one of which included her saying, “being gay is a sin in her religion.” After making comments about her sexual orientation, Rich invited Francois to attend her church where they provide conversation therapy sessions that are meant to “de-program” homosexuals. According to the lawsuit, Rich would also take new hires in their office aside and inform them of Francois’ sexual orientation.

Francois reached out to her supervisors in 2016, four years after the initial harassment and discrimination began, to inform them of the issues she had been having with Rich. After filing a complaint with human resources in early 2017, Francois was informed by the school that her allegations were deemed unfounded, leading her to appeal the decision. In spring of the same year, Francois wanted to transfer to another department at the college due to the hostile work environment she was experiencing. The school informed her that she would have to withdraw her appeal of her 2016 investigation if she wanted to transfer departments, which according to the lawsuit, is illegal and an act of retaliation. The lawsuit was filed on August 20th, and has not received a response from either of the defendants.

If you feel that you have been discriminated against because of your religion and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear three cases that will help the court decide whether or not LGBTQ individuals in the workplace should be protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The existing federal statute makes it illegal to discriminate against someone in the workplace on the basis of biological sex. If the court decides in favor of the cases, it will become illegal for employers to discriminate against potential and existing employees because of their sexual orientation or their gender identity.
People like Kathleen O’Donnell and her wife Casey who live in Billings, Montana are closely watching to see what the Supreme Court decides. Kathleen was discriminated against in her workplace when co-workers verbally harassed her because of her appearance. Right before her six-month probationary period was up, Kathleen was informed by her supervisor that he was instructed to terminate her employment “…because the owner does not like that you’re gay.”

Over half of the U.S. states do not have laws explicitly protecting LGBTQ people from housing and employment discrimination. Some local governments have nondiscrimination ordinances on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, but others do not have such ordinances. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has stated that it enforces Title VII’s protections regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation, however, courts have debated whether or not the EEOC has the authority to make those decisions.

No matter what conclusion the Supreme Court comes to, LGBTQ individuals all over the country will have their lives changed in some way, shape, or form, whether it is in a positive manner or a negative manner.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.

The Department of Justice has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) for racially discriminating against African American applicants. According to the lawsuit, BCPD has been violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 since January of 2013 by making employment decisions based on hiring examination results that were unrelated to entry-level police officer and cadet positions. These examinations “disproportionately excluded African American applicants,” according to the suit.

The examination that was given to applicants was failed by African American applicants at a greater rate than white applicants, which led to less African American individuals being hired as police officers. The exams tested reading, logic, grammar, and other skills that the suit states are not relevant to the job of a police officer or police cadet.

The lawsuit asks the court to order Baltimore County to stop using the examination, to give relief to those who have already suffered discrimination, and to adopt new measures to correct the racial discrimination. In Baltimore County, the number of African American applicants has increased, however, this has not translated to more minority officers being hired by the police department.

If you feel that you have been discriminated against because of your race and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.

Jack Holshouser, a former employee of JF Electric of Edwardsville, is suing the company for wrongfully terminating him after he allegedly suffered injuries while on the job in January of 2016. According to Holshouser’s lawsuit, he was wrongfully terminated after he filed a workers’ compensation claim with the Workers’ Compensation Commission after he suffered an injury to his left leg and ankle.

In December of 2016, Holshouser was released from the hospital, and he was told he would be able to return to work with medical restrictions. Holshouser did not return to work until February 2017 with a doctor’s release. The lawsuit states that Holshouser was terminated in March of 2018 in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim, which violates his rights under the Workers’ Compensation Act.

Holshouser states in his lawsuit that he is seeking lost wages and benefits prior to his termination, and that he has suffered emotional harm and a loss to his reputation. He is seeking over $50,000 along with proper relief.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated due to retaliation and would like to know your rights as an employee in the state of California, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Law Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer.