Wrongful Termination and Discrimination Suit Filed against City by Former Trenton Park Ranger and Mack Supporter

Russell Wilson was a campaign supporter for former Trenton Mayor Tony Mack. He was given the position of park ranger in 2010 after Mack won the mayoral election. Two years later, in October of 2012, Wilson was charged with trespassing and theft. Claims were made that he stole over 10 gallons of city gas for use in his private vehicle. As a result of the charges made, he was placed on leave. The charges were soon dismissed, but Wilson was not reinstated as Trenton park ranger.

In April of 2013, Wilson’s attorney sent a letter to Mack stating that the he was eligible to return to work as a park ranger for the city.

In October Mr. Wilson filed suit claiming he was wrongfully terminated from his position as a park ranger. He seeks back pay and compensation because he wasn’t reinstated after criminal charges filed against him were dismissed. The letter was sent as a means of resolving the matter without additional legal action. 

Wilson believes that he was targeted because he was a supporter of Mack during the election. At the time of the allegations made against Wilson, Mack was under investigation. Mack, the Trenton mayor, was busted as part of a government sting and was eventually found guilty of bribery, fraud and extortion. (His brother was also found guilty of participating in a scheme to take bribes in exchange for helping obtain approvals for the development of a parking garage structure). Wilson also stated that he sees the charges as age discrimination due to the fact that the police officers identified the man they saw stealing city gas only as “old.” Wilson is 71 and believes that this descriptor leading to his being officially charged with the crime constitutes discrimination according to AARP.

If you have questions regarding age discrimination or wrongful termination or discrimination in general get in touch with an expert southern California employment law expert at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik to get the answers you need. 

Mother in Central Indiana Files Wrongful Termination Suit Over Breastfeeding Needs

A working, breastfeeding mother in Central Indiana (Shelby County) claims that she was fired from her job for requesting that her managers designate an appropriate place for her to use to pump her breast milk while at work. Could she have been wrongfully terminated for breastfeeding? Erica Zinn claims that she was fired from seasonal work at Shelbyville’s Rural King. Ms. Zinn’s daughter is 11 months old and refused to drink anything but breast milk. Ms. Zinn claims that she was clear with her employer up front about her needs when she was hired for the job.

Ms. Zinn was told by a manager to use a restroom when she needed to pump her breast milk and she refused. A coworker suggested that she use a fitting room and she assumed that everything was fine. A few days later, Zinn claims that she was again told to use the restroom for her breast milk pumping needs. Her manager fired Zinn that same day. The manager claims she was fired as a result of lack of complete availability, and issues surrounding her needs…basically concluding that she wasn’t a good suit for the job.

Zinn responds to these claims by stating that she was very clear when she applied for work about her availability. In response to reasons the company states for her firing, Zinn can’t help but wonder why she was hired in the first place if there was a problem related to availability that was thoroughly discussed.

A company spokesman for Rural King responded to media requests for responses to Zinn’s allegations by saying that there was no official comment because it is a personnel matter, but also noted that information reported by Zinn might not contain the complete story.  

If you need additional information regarding wrongful termination and what qualifies according to southern California employment law, contact the employment law attorneys at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik.