A former employee has filed a lawsuit against her employer, alleging pregnancy-based discrimination and retaliation. On August 8, 2024, Jazmin Young filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Universal Protection Service, LLC d/b/a Allied Universal Security Services.
Jazmin Young claims that she was subjected to different terms and conditions of employment due to her pregnancy and sex, which violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) of 2023. According to the complaint, Young began working as a security guard for the defendant on June 16, 2023. She took a brief leave after about a month to give birth and care for her baby. Upon returning to work in September 2023 at NFI Warehouse, she alleges that her employer refused to provide an appropriate room for expressing breast milk, forcing her to use her car instead.
The situation did not improve when Young was transferred to another location in early January 2024. She continued to lack access to a proper space for expressing breast milk and was denied use of a refrigerator for storage. Despite complaining about these issues to her managers Keith Brault and Anatolie Gazriliout on January 8 and January 10 respectively, no accommodations were made. Instead, Young claims she faced retaliation: she was sent home from work by Gazriliout after voicing her concerns again.
Young reported this act of retaliation to Human Resources (HR), but HR responded dismissively and failed to take any corrective action. Subsequently, she found herself removed from the work schedule without explanation. After multiple attempts to seek clarification from both HR and her managers proved futile, Young concluded that she had been effectively terminated on January 15, 2024.
In her lawsuit, Young asserts that Universal Protection Service's actions constituted unlawful termination based on sex (pregnancy) discrimination and retaliation for engaging in protected activities under Title VII and PWFA. She is seeking various forms of relief including back pay with interest, compensatory and punitive damages, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, pre-judgment interest if applicable, and any other relief deemed just by the court.
Representing Jazmin Young are attorneys Nathan C. Volheim (IL Bar No.: 6302103) and Sophia K. Steere (KY Bar No.: 100481) from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., located at Lombard, Illinois.
The Case ID is: 1:24-cv-06961.