A former employee has filed a lawsuit against her previous employer, alleging severe workplace misconduct. Magdalena Rodriguez lodged the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on August 16, 2024, accusing Andy Frain Services, Inc. of sex-based discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.
According to the court documents, Rodriguez worked for Andy Frain Services from January 2019 until March 1, 2024. Initially hired as a Supervisor and later promoted to Assistant Director in July 2021, she claims that starting in early 2023, her direct supervisor Cary Kolbe subjected her to continuous sexual harassment. The complaint details several incidents where Kolbe made sexually charged comments and gestures towards Rodriguez. For instance, when discussing CPR administration, Kolbe allegedly said he would "love for you to fall down because I would love to stick my tongue down your throat," while making sexual gestures. Other inappropriate remarks included comments about seeing Rodriguez in a "sexy little red dress with high heels" and speculating about her romantic and sexual life.
Rodriguez states that she reported these incidents multiple times to Human Resources Representative Eli Parkin throughout 2023 and 2024. However, Parkin allegedly failed to take any action or investigate the complaints adequately. The situation escalated when another female employee reported similar harassment by Kolbe to Rodriguez in May or June of 2023. Despite assurances from HR that her complaints would remain confidential and she would not face retaliation, Rodriguez was terminated shortly after returning from vacation on February 29, 2024.
The plaintiff argues that her termination was not due to any misconduct but was instead an act of retaliation for reporting sexual harassment. She asserts that during her employment tenure, she met or exceeded performance expectations without receiving any disciplinary actions or negative performance reviews.
Rodriguez is seeking various forms of relief from the court: 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 Rodriguez are attorneys Nathan C. Volheim and Sophia K. Steere from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., while the case will be presided over by a judge yet to be named under Case ID: 1:24-cv-07356.