Former Employee Victim Of Retaliatory Negative Job Reference EEOC Lawsuit Charges
On October 14, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a press release announcing that it has filed a retaliation lawsuit against Jivaro Professional Headhunters, LLC (Jivaro). On October 10, 2020, the EEOC filed the case, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Jivaro Professional Headhunters, LLC, Case No. 1:20-cv-00461, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho after initially attempting to remedy the alleged unlawful employment practices through its lawfully mandated conciliation process. Unable to settle the case through conciliation, the EEOC seeks to correct the alleged unlawful employment practices through litigation.
The EEOC filed the retaliation lawsuit pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on behalf of a former employee of Jivaro, Felicia Bauer (Bauer). The ADA makes discrimination on the basis of disability an unlawful employment practice. The ADA also protects employees from retaliation when they complain about perceived disability discrimination in the workplace. The ADA’s protection against retaliation extends to current employees and former employees who file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC against an employer claiming disability discrimination. The EEOC maintains that Jivaro retaliated against Bauer in violation of the ADA for filing a charge of disability discrimination with the EEOC. In this article, our Ocala, Florida retaliatory termination lawyers explain the EEOC’s allegations of retaliation against Jivaro.
Employee Claims Retaliatory Termination
In April 2018, Bauer began working for Jivaro as a recruiter at its office in Hailey, Idaho. In October 2016, Jivaro fired Bauer. After her employment was terminated, Bauer filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC on February 11, 2019 claiming that she had been unlawfully discharged on the basis of disability.
On April 19, 2019, according to the EEOC, Jivaro provided a negative job reference to a potential employer of Bauer by providing false and misleading information about Bauer’s employment history at Jivaro and the circumstances leading to her discharge. The EEOC contends that Jivaro gave Bauer a negative job reference in retaliation for her EEOC charge of discrimination against the company. On November 19, 2019, Jivaro filed a lawsuit in Idaho state court against Bauer alleging that Bauer had defamed the company and breached here employment contract by filing an EEOC charge of discrimination instead of complaining to Jivaro directly regarding the alleged discriminatory discharge. The EEOC contends that Jivaro filed the lawsuit against Bauer in retaliation for her EEOC charge of discrimination against the company.
Lawyers For Retaliation Victims
The EEOC is the administrative agency of the United States responsible for interpreting and enforcing federal employment laws making discrimination, harassment, and retaliation unlawful employment practices. As part of its on-going efforts to eliminate unlawful employment practices from the American workplace, the EEOC files lawsuits on behalf of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation victims. In a press release issued by the EEOC on October 15, 2020 regarding the case, the Deputy Director for the EEOC’s San Francisco Office, Nancy Sienko, stated that “this employer went to extraordinary lengths to even the score with a former employee who simply wanted fair treatment.” In further commenting on the case, Ms. Sienko explained that “let the Idaho employment community know: retaliation is a violation of federal law and the EEOC will file suit when appropriate to enforce it.” An EEOC Regional Attorney, Roberta Steele, added, “the ADA protects the rights of current and former employees alike to speak up and report problems without being chilled by an employer’s retaliatory actions.”
Ocala, FL Retaliatory Termination Lawyers
Based in Ocala, Florida and representing employees throughout Central Florida, our Marion County, Florida retaliatory termination attorneys have litigated retaliation cases in Florida courts for more than twenty years. If you have been fired in retaliation for exercising your rights as an employee or have questions about your protection from retaliation under the federal employment laws, please contact our office for a free consultation with our Ocala, Florida retaliatory termination lawyers. Our employee rights law firm takes retaliatory termination cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that there are no attorney’s fees incurred unless there is a recovery and our attorney’s fees come solely from the monetary award that you recover.