A Cook County man is suing his former company over age discrimination.
Gregorio Hernandez filed a lawsuit Oct. 15 against Painter's Collaborative Inc. in Cook County Circuit Court, citing violations of the Illinois Human Rights Act and The Age Discrimination and Employment Act.
Gregorio says that on May 15, 1991, he was hired by Painter's Collaborative and worked as a taper at various job locations. He says that as a Painter's employee, he would be given a specific job assignment by his supervisor, Jaime Martinez, and upon completion of that assignment Martinez would automatically give Gregorio another job. According to the complaint, in March 2012 Gregorio completed a job and called Martinez to ask for another job at which time Martinez allegedly did not answer the phone nor return any of Gregorio's phone calls. Gregorio says that after a week of no response he went to Martinez's home and was told by Martinez that there was not work for him, despite the fact that the company was hiring new employees for the jobs Gregorio commonly completed. Gregorio alleges that for approximately three to four months prior to March 2012, Martinez pressured and scrutinized him about his age and that more was expected from Gregorio than younger employees. The complaint alleges that younger employees in the same situation were not discharged.
Hernandez is seeking an undisclosed amount of compensatory and punitive damages plus court costs and attorney's fees. He is being represented in the case by attorney Monica C. Pirri of Katz Law Office Ltd.
Circuit Court of Cook County Case No. 2013L011383.
This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.