Fired Labor Union Manager Sues Former Employer For Wrongful Termination And Sex Discrimination

In some employment discrimination cases, the plaintiff never really felt welcome at the organization where he or she worked.  If the plaintiff had a protected characteristic that was rare among the employees in that workplace, such as being one of only a few Black employees at a large company’s branch in a culturally diverse city or the only LGBTQ employee among a team of ten employees who worked closely together, discrimination lawsuits often tell of how the plaintiff was singled out from the beginning, and then the harassment escalated into outright hostility until the plaintiff was fired or resigned after receiving an ultimatum.  In other cases, though, things are going well until a new supervisor comes in who antagonizes the plaintiff because of his or her protected characteristic.  If either of the above scenarios describes your experience with employment discrimination, you are within your rights to complain, and if your employer’s response to your complaints was to fire you, then you may have a strong case for an employer retaliation claim.  If things got worse after you complained about employment discrimination, contact a Los Angeles retaliation lawyer.

Things Were Going Fine for the Only Female Manager Until a New Boss Came Along

The plaintiff began working as a manager at a teamsters’ union in 2016.  She is openly gay, and she was one of few women in a managerial position at her place of employment.  She also participated in a nationwide organization of LGBTQ teamsters, and her coworkers knew about this, but it was never a source of discord at her workplace.

In 2021, the plaintiff’s employer hired a new manager to replace the previous one who had directly supervised the plaintiff, and this is when the problems started.  The new supervisor frequently made comments about how the presence of women among the managers made for a less productive and less enjoyable work environment.  He also often made derogatory remarks about her sexual orientation.  By January 2022, the supervisor wrote the plaintiff up for things she didn’t do, and when she wrote a response refuting his claims, he called her defensive.  She complained to human resources and was fired shortly thereafter.

The plaintiff filed a lawsuit against her former employer, seeking at least $500,000 in compensatory damages, plus punitive damages.

Speak With a Los Angeles Employment Discrimination Lawyer

Wrongful termination is the worst-case scenario in employment discrimination.  A Los Angeles employment discrimination lawyer can help you if your efforts to stand up for yourself in the face of discrimination at work were met with harassment or other retaliatory actions.  Contact Litigation, P.C. in Los Angeles, California to discuss your situation or call (424)284-2401.

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