A former employee has filed a lawsuit against her previous employer, alleging severe workplace discrimination and unfair labor practices. Stephanie Escobar lodged the complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on February 19, 2025, targeting Circle Logistics Inc. as the defendant.
Escobar's lawsuit accuses Circle Logistics Inc. of multiple violations, including gender and age discrimination, retaliation for protected activities under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and failure to pay due overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Illinois Minimum Wage Law (IMWL). According to Escobar, she was subjected to a hostile work environment characterized by a "frat-house" culture that favored younger male employees over older female colleagues like herself. She claims that during her tenure from March 28, 2022, to October 28, 2022, she faced explicit sexual comments and was pressured into participating in inappropriate office activities involving alcohol consumption. "All I have ever wanted was to know how to do my job without it changing from one day to the next," Escobar expressed in an email to HR on September 28, 2022.
The complaint further alleges that Escobar received less training than her younger male counterparts and was excluded from team activities by her supervisor Alex Churchman. She claims this discriminatory treatment escalated after she voiced concerns about ageism when another supervisor dismissed her complaints as those of a "more mature person having difficulty working here." Her attempts to address these issues internally reportedly led to retaliatory actions such as account transfers reducing her commission potential and ultimately culminated in her termination shortly after being placed on a Performance Improvement Plan.
In addition to discrimination claims, Escobar argues that Circle Logistics Inc. misclassified her role as exempt from overtime pay requirements despite regularly working beyond standard hours without compensation. The suit outlines numerous instances where she worked over forty hours per week but did not receive appropriate overtime pay due to company policies mandating availability outside regular business hours.
Through this legal action, Escobar seeks various forms of relief from Circle Logistics Inc., including back pay for lost wages and benefits due to alleged wrongful termination and unpaid overtime compensation with interest under both federal and state laws. She also demands compensatory damages for emotional distress caused by discriminatory practices alongside punitive damages intended as deterrence against future misconduct by employers.
Representing Stephanie Escobar is attorney Nicholas Kreitman from Kreitman Law LLC based in Chicago. The case has been assigned Case ID: 1:25-cv-01739 with jury trial demanded before judges at the Northern District Court located within Illinois' Eastern Division jurisdictional boundaries.