A former employee has filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination and retaliation against his previous employer, a telecommunications company. Mitchell Hernandez initiated the complaint on December 30, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, targeting RCN Telecom Services of Illinois, LLC, doing business as Astound Broadband.
The case centers around allegations that Hernandez faced discriminatory treatment based on his Hispanic ethnicity during his tenure as a senior enterprise account executive from January 1, 2023, to October 15, 2024. Hernandez claims that upon returning from paternity leave in June 2024, he was unjustly placed on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) by his manager Heidi without prior performance issues. Despite raising concerns with HR Director Ruth Anne about being treated differently than Caucasian colleagues with similar performance records, no action was taken. This prompted Hernandez to file an inquiry with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) citing race discrimination and harassment.
Hernandez's complaint outlines multiple violations under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1981. He alleges that after reporting these issues internally and to the EEOC, he faced further retaliation culminating in his termination on October 15, 2024. The lawsuit accuses RCN Telecom Services of perpetuating a hostile work environment and engaging in systemic race-based discrimination practices.
Hernandez seeks various forms of relief from the court including back pay with interest, compensatory and punitive damages, front pay, and coverage of attorney fees. He emphasizes that his termination was unwarranted given that other team members who were not Hispanic did not face similar consequences despite comparable sales performances.
Representing Hernandez is Travis P. Lampert from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., while details regarding the defendant's legal representation remain undisclosed at this stage. The case is assigned Case ID: 1:24-cv-13325 and awaits judicial proceedings in front of the presiding judge yet to be named.