A former employee of a food manufacturing company has filed a lawsuit alleging racial and national origin discrimination, sexual harassment, and retaliation. Cinthia Magaly Sosa Santana filed the complaint against Dutch-American Foods, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on December 6, 2024.
The case revolves around Santana's allegations of a hostile work environment during her employment as a forklift driver at Dutch-American Foods, Inc., where she claims to have faced continuous discrimination and harassment based on her Mexican descent. According to the complaint, her supervisors, identified as "Tim" and his son "Nick," were involved in creating this hostile environment. Santana alleges that Nick frequently made derogatory remarks about her ethnicity, calling her a "fucking Mexican lady" and an "illegal." She also claims that Nick engaged in physical harassment by groping her without consent.
Santana reported these incidents to Tim, who allegedly dismissed her complaints due to his familial relationship with Nick. The plaintiff further contends that despite bringing these issues to human resources' attention, no effective action was taken to address or prevent the harassment. Instead, she was terminated from her position under what she describes as false pretenses orchestrated by Tim in retaliation for reporting Nick's behavior.
The lawsuit accuses Dutch-American Foods of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Civil Rights Act of 1866 by fostering an environment where racial discrimination and gender-based violence occurred unchecked. Santana is seeking compensatory damages for lost wages and emotional distress, punitive damages for willful misconduct by the defendant, attorney fees, and any other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
Representing Santana are attorneys James M. Dore and Daniel I. Schlade from Justicia Laboral LLC. The case is presided over by Judge Amrith Kaur Aakre under Case ID 1:24-cv-12557.