A Jacksonville, Florida woman sued her ex-employer Cox Radio Inc. doing business as Cox Media Group Jacksonville after her termination from the Power 106.1 FM radio station as an on-air announcer. The Middle District of Florida complaint asserted that she was fired based on her gender and pregnancy.
The complaint explained that the plaintiff, a Black female, joined the Jacksonville radio station owned by Cox in July 2013. Allegedly, she received positive feedback from her supervisor, the radio station’s program director, throughout her employment. From March through June 2019, the plaintiff reportedly took maternity leave after giving birth to a child. In 2020, she became pregnant again, the filing states.
On June 29, 2020, the radio station fired her, citing performance issues. The complaint claimed that this reason was pretextual, however, and meant to conceal Cox’s unlawful discriminatory motive. The real reason, the plaintiff contended, is that although she was granted reasonable accommodations during her first pregnancy, Cox did not want to make similar accommodations for her second.
Before filing her federal court action, the plaintiff sought and obtained a right to sue letter from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in February 2021. The complaint stated one cause of action for pregnancy/sex discrimination under a provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. For the alleged discrimination, the former employee seeks compensatory and punitive damages and an award of her attorneys’ fees and litigation costs.
The plaintiff is represented by The Bonderud Law Firm P.A.
