A former store manager has filed a lawsuit against her previous employer, alleging severe sexual harassment and retaliation. Terra Redd filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on August 16, 2024, accusing Yaa Connect LLC of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
According to the complaint, Terra Redd was employed by Yaa Connect LLC as a Store Manager from October 2023 until May 3, 2024. During her tenure, she claims to have faced continuous sexual harassment from one of her subordinates, Julious Jones. The allegations include Jones frequently calling her derogatory names and making lewd comments about how she supposedly secured her job. Despite reporting these incidents to Human Resources Representative Samantha Cole multiple times, no disciplinary action was taken against Jones.
The situation worsened when another male employee named Brent joined Jones in stealing money and phones from the store. These thefts resulted in deductions from Redd's paycheck, further exacerbating her distress. When Redd reported these issues to both Cole and District Manager Louis Quinterra, she received no support or investigation into her complaints.
Feeling cornered by the unaddressed harassment and financial sabotage, Redd requested a transfer to another location. Initially told that she would need to accept a pay cut for any transfer to be approved, she agreed due to the unbearable conditions at her current workplace. However, on May 2, 2024, after being instructed to submit her transfer request, Cole informed her there were no longer any openings and falsely accepted what she termed as Redd's "verbal resignation." Despite Redd's insistence that she did not wish to resign or quit her position, Cole removed her from the schedule effectively terminating her employment.
Redd asserts that she met or exceeded performance expectations throughout her employment and was unlawfully terminated due to her sex and for opposing unlawful discrimination. She is seeking 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.
The case is represented by Alexander J. Taylor of Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., with Judge Amrith Kaur Aakre presiding over Case ID: 1:24-cv-07375.