A former deli clerk has filed a lawsuit against her employer, alleging sex-based discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. Chantelle Walker lodged the complaint against Jewel Food Stores, Inc., doing business as Jewel Osco, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on September 4, 2024.
Walker claims that her troubles began shortly after she started working at Jewel Osco on June 26, 2024. According to the complaint, Walker was subjected to derogatory comments and misgendering by her coworkers starting around July 6, 2024. Her manager, identified only as Ashley in the filing, allegedly called her "Man Girl" and said, "You are confusing us, Man Girl." Shocked by this behavior from her manager, Walker reported the incident to higher-ups within the company but faced further issues.
The complaint details how Walker reported the harassment to Director Tony (last name unknown) and later provided a handwritten statement to Director Fred (last name unknown) and hiring manager Mike (last name unknown). Following these reports, Walker alleges that she was sent home by Ashley with a comment stating they no longer needed her services. Despite assurances from Human Resources that an investigation would be conducted after she reported the situation again on July 12, 2024, Walker claims that her work hours were significantly reduced in retaliation. She went from working 40 hours a week to just three days a week for four hours each day.
Walker believes that these actions were direct retaliation for her complaints about discrimination and harassment. She notes that despite being understaffed according to another employee's comment, she was the only one whose hours were cut. When she sought HR's contact information from Mike to lodge another complaint about this apparent retaliation, he refused to provide it under the pretext of an ongoing investigation.
The plaintiff asserts that she met or exceeded performance expectations throughout her employment but suffered adverse employment actions due to opposing unlawful discrimination and exercising her protected rights. The lawsuit claims violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1981 of the same act.
Walker is seeking several 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 and proper by the court.
The case is being handled by Chad W. Eisenback of Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., while Judge Amrith Kaur Aakre will oversee proceedings under Case ID: 1:24-cv-08050.