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Jim Bartko, the former athletic director of Fresno State, has reached a mutual settlement with the university after he filed a wrongful termination claim last year. Bartko claimed that high-ranking administrators as well as the president of Fresno State, Joseph Castro, developed a plan to tarnish Bartko’s name, leading him to resign from his position.

In January of 2017, Bartko received treatment at Sierra Tucson for a sexual assault he experienced as a child. In his claim, he brought up his mental disability/mental condition, saying that the university did not attempt to accommodate his disability. Bartko allegedly experienced retaliation and discrimination because of his mental disability.

Castro was considering contract negotiations with Bartko in February after Bartko mentioned he would be leaving to stay at Sierra Tucson for treatment, and after hiring a new football coach for the university. Castro and other administrators expressed concern after reports of Bartko being seen drinking alcohol when working for the university and at business lunches.

Bartko was put on an improvement plan for his job performance in July, which he believed was an excuse for retaliation and discrimination. He was told in November that he could resign and receive severance, or be terminated with cause. Bartko signed an agreement to receive severance, but alleges in his claim that he was not given enough time to read the resignation documents properly. Bartko sought $3 million in damages in his claim for defamation, breach of contract, and infliction of emotional distress. A settlement has been reached.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated due to retaliation or that you have been discriminated against because of your disability 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.

Lois Chaney, a former employee of Kentucky Fried Chicken, also known as Tri State Food Systems, in Wayne, West Virginia, recently had her wrongful termination lawsuit against the company moved to a federal court since it is a Kentucky corporation.

Chaney started working for KFC in November of 2016, and mentions in her suit that she informed the manager of her diabetes, dyslexia, and signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder when she was initially interviewed for her position. In February of 2017, a co-worker of Chaney’s started to harass her by calling her names such as, “stupid,” “retarded,” and “fat.” The Wayne KFC manager a month later, along with another employee, began to allegedly use derogatory terms when referencing Chaney.

Chaney allegedly told the general manager she did not want the name calling to continue, to which her general manager said she would make sure it wouldn’t happen again. However, the general manager did not put a stop to it. Another KFC employee started to approach Chaney with sexual requests and suggestions, even after Chaney reported the sexual harassment incidents to her manager.

The last situation Chaney reported was suspected drug use amongst the other employees, which was reported to the owner of the fast food restaurant in December of 2017. She was then wrongfully terminated ten days later for allegedly not paying for a slice of cheesecake. She is seeking compensatory damages as well as pre- and post- judgment interest, making her threshold higher than $75,000, which is why the case has been moved to federal court.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated due to retaliation and you 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.

A pair of ex-employees of Meow Wolf, an immersive art company, have filed a gender discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit after they experienced unfair pay practices while working for the company. Tara Khozein and Gina Maciuszek are trying to have their case seen as a class action lawsuit, which would involve over 50 female workers at the company who have been impacted by alleged unfair labor practices for the last few years.

Specifically, their lawsuit claims the company has “a pattern and practice of subjecting female employees to different compensation, terms, conditions, and/or privileges of employment,” which is leading Khozein and Maciuszek to seek compensatory and punitive damages for gender discrimination along with legal costs.

Khozein was fired five months after she was hired by Meow Wolf. She claims she earned below minimum wage while working overtime hours and not being paid for them. After bringing up concerns about her pay, in addition to her claims of gender discrimination at the company, Khozein was wrongfully terminated by her supervisors.

Maciuszek was fired after only a month and a half of working for Meow Wolf after she claimed she was scrutinized much more intensely than her male co-workers, after which he supervisors said she was being “too assertive.” An investigation took place at the company, and in alleged retaliation, Meow Wolf terminated Maciuszek shortly after the investigation was completed.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated due to retaliation or that 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.

The former vice president of human resources at Unity Technologies, Anne Evans, is suing the company for sexual harassment and wrongful termination. She alleges that Unity’s CEO John Riccitiello sexually harassed her. She claims that Unity’s workplace in general was “highly sexualized” where employees discussed their sexual relationships openly. Evans also alleges that Riccitiello repeatedly asked Evans to have sex with him on a couple of different occasions.

The lawsuit filed by Evans alleges retaliation, discrimination, wrongful termination, and other allegations. She was promoted from senior director of recruiting to vice president two years after she started working for Unity Technologies. Allegedly, Riccitiello started making sexual comments to her after she was promoted.

On a separate occasion, Evans had a dispute with another Unity employee over undisclosed topics. Earlier on in 2019, she stated the dispute led to her wrongful termination from Unity as retaliation for the dispute. Her lawsuit was filed shortly after. Unity alleges that multiple opportunities were given to Evans to share her concerns during an investigation at Unity, but she “never did.”

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated due to retaliation and you 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.

A former employee of Turnpike Ford auto dealership, which is owned by Transportation Network III alleges she was wrongfully terminated by the company for her gender and her pregnancy. Melinda Smith began working for Turnpike Ford in June 2017, and Transportation Network III purchased the dealership in January of 2018. Smith claims in her lawsuit that she was subject to inappropriate sexual comments and degrading treatment.

Smith states in the lawsuit that she started dating a manager of a different dealership location, which to her knowledge was not against any company rules. The manager was then asked to sign a document in May of 2018 to confirm he was aware that it is against company policy for a manager to have a romantic relationship with a co-worker. In November of 2018, Smith informed human resources that she was pregnant.

Smith was called into the HR office in December to meet with supervisors of the company to discuss her pregnancy situation. Allegedly, Smith was asked to consider working at a different dealership location, and that she should consider a demotion. During the meeting, Smith told her supervisors she wished to stay in her existing position. Less than a month later, she was told her position was being eliminated and that she was terminated. She is seeking wages due, legal fees, and costs.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated due to retaliation or that you have been discriminated against because of your gender or pregnancy 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.

Michael B. Johnson, a former employee of the Schlumberger Technology Corporation has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit came after Johnson, who is an African American man, was told that he “didn’t belong here” by the safety representative at the company. He was also warned that he “should not buy a house in the area.” A different employee used racial slurs and gender stereotyped comments that were directed at Johnson and other employees.

Johnson filed a formal verbal and written complaint in early September of 2018 with the Human Resources department. When he checked back with Human Resources in October to see if the matter had been handled, Johnson alleged that Schlumberger Technology Corporation took no actions against the employees. This led Johnson to claim the company did not properly investigate the situation.

A few weeks after the complaint, Johnson was laid off since the company had no work for him. Johnson believes he was laid off in retaliation of his racial discrimination complaints. He was not offered to be transferred to a location that had available work. Shortly after he was laid off, Johnson alleged that the company replaced him with a Caucasian male even though he was told there was no work. According to documents given to the court, multiple employees were hired with less experience than Johnson, and Schlumberger kept employees on who had less seniority.

If you feel that you have been wrongfully terminated due to retaliation or 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.

A former female employee of J.O. Spice and Cure Company, a Maryland company that sells crab seasoning, is suing the owner, Donald Ports, for repeated sexual harassment. In the lawsuit, the employee states that Ports would continuously bring up indecent topics in a work environment, which included discussing women’s bodies in demeaning and sexually explicit manners.

Ports allegedly told the plaintiff that she must have sex with him both at work and at a motel in the area. The plaintiff got married, but was threatened by Ports who said he would tell her husband about his sexual relationship with her if she stopped having sex with him. The female employee expected her punishment would be terminated if she did not comply with Ports.

The female employee left the company in January of 2018 before filing a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission later in the year. The plaintiff is “seeking relief including punitive damages, compensation for lost wages and attorney’s fees.”

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

The former Assistant Superintendent of Deming Public Schools, Ray Trejo, filed a lawsuit on June 19, 2019 against the school board for wrongful termination and discrimination. Allegedly, the school board wrongfully accused Trejo of “negligence in the administration of his duties” and have disregarded proper procedural requirements by “harassing,” and “punishing” Trejo before terminating him on June 28, 2018.

Three months into Trejo’s tenure, he attended a meeting to discuss an audit that was run by the district’s former accounting firm. Trejo found out that some of the school’s finances were missing. Trejo acted on the matter as a whistleblower to the superintendent Dr. Lere. In the same year, Lere announced he was retiring, which led to Trejo being a finalist for Lere’s position. A man named Arsenio Romero was selected instead, and then proceeded to demote Trejo because of “pressure from the governing board.”

Trejo was put on administrative leave in December of 2017 after the school found out almost $150,000 had been embezzled. In June 2018, Trejo was wrongfully terminated. Trejo alleges the board discriminated against him due to his Hispanic ethnicity, his race, and his age.

If you feel that you have been retaliated against for being a whistleblower or have been wrongfully terminated by your employer, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Legal Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer who will clearly explain your rights and options under the law.

Megan Glasgow, an employee of HoyStarkHagan Architects alleged on June 19 that Patrick Hoy, the owner of the law firm, touched her without her consent and sexually harassed her during a work trip in January. Hoy allegedly sent sexually inappropriate texts to Glasgow prior to the work trip, and that he sent nude photos of himself to her. While they were on the work trip, Hoy suggested that he and Glasgow have sex while he was touching her lower back and her knees.

According to Glasgow’s complaint, she rejected the sexual advances, and declined to participate in any sexual acts with Hoy. He persisted and texted her his hotel room number just in case she “changed her mind.” After returning from the trip, Glasgow complained to the HoyStarkHagan in regards to the sexual harassment, and was placed on leave for several weeks. An investigation took place at the firm until February 8^th where Glasgow was told her allegations were not justified. Her sexual harassment lawsuit was filed the same day.

Glasgow returned to work after her leave, and was greeted by a significant decrease in duties and tasks, less working hours, and a chaperone that was required to be with her at all times in the office. Reportedly, Hoy stated he did in fact proposition Glasgow for sexual activity during his deposition, but HoyStarkHagan Architecture firm denied the documents in court. A hearing will be taking place in mid-July.

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

Karen Dunbar, the former creative director of DDB agency TracyLocke, is suing the company as well as its parent company Omnicom Group for alleged sexual harassment as well as wrongful termination. Dunbar joined TracyLocke in 2015 as creative director, and claims she was always prevented from moving forward with the company in a higher position despite her great performance.

Dunbar also claims in her suit that she was made to feel as though she was a sexual object, not only by co-workers, but also clients. In a meeting with a client, the client told Dunbar’s superior that he wanted her to sit next to him “so there’d be somebody sexy, young and pretty.” Dunbar’s male co-workers also allegedly tried touching her without her consent and verbally abused her at the office. Despite multiple documents and reports being sent to superiors at TracyLocke, and Omnicom’s HR offices, there was little or no action taken against the alleged abusers for sexually harassing Dunbar. In an attempt to organize the women of the office, Dunbar was terminated and accused of disloyalty.

The lawsuit is comprised of multiple charges, including “gender discrimination, discriminatory pay and promotion and retaliation for her opposition to these practices” and Dunbar is seeking an unspecified amount of money, but she is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, as well as legal and fair relief.

If you have been retaliated against, sexually harassed, or wrongfully terminated by your employer, please contact the attorneys at the California Employment Legal Group today for a free consultation with an experienced employment lawyer who will clearly explain your rights and options under the law.