A Former Walt Disney Employee Accuses the Most Magical Place on Earth of Wrongful Termination
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A former Walt Disney employee, Angela Devore, is suing. Allegations include: discrimination, violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act and wrongful termination. She filed the complaint in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Western Division on January 3rd, 2018. The suit (U.S. District Court for the Central District of California Western Division case number 18-cv-00041) was filed against Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development Inc. alleging that they violated her rights as an employee to family and medical leave.
The Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA is a labor law that requires larger employers to provide employees with unpaid leave for serious health conditions, to care for family members who are sick or experiencing serious health conditions, or to care for a newborn or adopted child.
Devore was hired as a set decorator in May of 2014. She was terminated on January 4, 2016.
According to the suit, Devore suffered (and will continue suffering) damages from lost wages, lost bonuses, lost benefits, emotional distress, mental suffering, and other pecuniary loss. Decore alleges that Disney interfered with her right to use her FMLA leave to provide care for her father when he needed assistance with serious health conditions during her time with the company.
Wrongful Termination is a legal term used to describe instances in which an employee’s contract of employment has been terminated by the employer, where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contract of employment, or a statute provision or rule in employment law. In this case, Devore claims she was wrongfully terminated because the FMLA required her employer to allow her to take unpaid leave without discharge.
Devore claims that the company discriminated against her when they terminated her employment as she tried to exercise her right to take FMLA leave and then refused to reinstate her to her previous position at a later date.
Devore is seeking a trial by jury, economic, non-economic and liquidated damages, interest, declaratory and injunctive relief, attorney fees, etc. all in accordance with what the court deems just.
If you need help handling a wrongful termination or if you are being discrimated against in the workplace, please get in touch with one of the experienced California employment law attorneys at Blumenthal Nordrehaug Bhowmik De Blouw LLP.
