A former tattoo artist has filed a lawsuit against her previous employer, alleging a pattern of discrimination and harassment based on sex, sexual orientation, and national origin. Madison Erana initiated the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on September 23, 2024, targeting Weird Girl Ink, LLC as the defendant.
Madison Erana claims that during her employment with Weird Girl Ink from July 28, 2023, to August 22, 2024, she was subjected to severe harassment by Alexis Rivas, the owner of the company. The complaint outlines numerous instances where Rivas allegedly made derogatory comments about Erana's non-binary Asian lesbian identity. These included misgendering her and making offensive remarks such as "Oh, lesbians try and hit on me all the time. I'm not into that gay shit." Furthermore, Rivas is accused of making disparaging comments about Erana's national origin and immigration status. In one instance related to an upcoming surgery for Erana, Rivas referred to her breasts as "boy boobs," contributing to what Erana describes as a hostile work environment.
The complaint asserts that these actions violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1981 concerning race discrimination. It alleges that Weird Girl Ink engaged in unlawful employment practices by subjecting Erana to both sexual orientation-based harassment and national origin-based discrimination. The plaintiff contends that these actions were not only pervasive but also unwelcomed and objectively offensive.
In addition to recounting incidents of harassment during her tenure at Weird Girl Ink, Erana details retaliatory actions following her termination via a Facebook post on August 22, 2024. She claims that after her dismissal for opposing discriminatory practices and exercising protected rights under Title VII, she faced further defamation from Rivas online. This included being publicly dead-named—a term referring to using a transgender or non-binary person's birth name without consent—and falsely labeled as a "felon."
Erana seeks various forms of relief from the court including back pay with interest, compensatory damages for emotional distress suffered due to the alleged hostile work environment and retaliation. Additionally, she requests injunctive relief along with punitive damages aimed at penalizing Weird Girl Ink for its purported misconduct.
Represented by attorney Chad W. Eisenback from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., Madison Erana is pursuing this case before an unnamed judge under Case ID: 1:24-cv-08735.