FRESNO -- A woman claims being terminated while on "protected" leave and suffering from discrimination in violation with Fair Employment and Housing (FEHA).
Melissa Trejo filed a complaint on May 17 in Fresno Superior Court against Walmart, Monica Wright, Jamie Rocha and Cristina Gutierrez for discrimination in violation of FEHA , harassment in violation of FEHA, failure to accommodate in violation of FEHA, failure to engage in the interactive process of FEHA, interference in violation of CFRA, retaliation, wrongful discharge in violation of public policy and violation of labor code 1198.5.
According to the complaint, Trejo was an employee of Walmart Inc., was originally hired on Sept. 9, 1992, and held the position of "Personnel Manager" by 2019.
Trejo was diagnosed with anxiety in 2016, and while out on medical leave, Trejo allegedly was terminated as of Aug. 7, 2019. Prior to termination, Trejo alleges that Store Manager Rocha and Co-Manager Wright would order employees to alter their timecards to reflect compliance with Labor Code section 512 which requires a meal break after five hours of consecutive work, which is also against Walmart policy.
In spring of 2019, Trejo began to feel uncomfortable with Walmart’s unwritten policy of timecard manipulation and began refusing to do so which resulted in disciplinary action, the suit claims.
Trejo suffered "a severe anxiety attack" due to interactions with Wright and Rocha concerning the timecard issues and was put on "protected" medical leave from May 29, 2019, until August 31, 2019, the suit says.
During medical leave, Trejo allegedly received notice that Walmart was eliminating her position and she was given the option to accept another position within the company or accept a severance package and separate from the company by August 2, 2019. She requested, and was granted, her decision to not be made until after she returned from medical leave, the suit says.
On August 7, 2019, Trejo alleges she received notification from Gutierrez that her “termination papers” were ready for pick up and that Rocha had terminated Trejo for "lack of work."
On Jan. 20, 2020, Trejo requested her employee file from Walmart and on Feb. 7, 2020, Trejo allegedly found many documents that should have been included in the file were missing. Trejo alleges that Rocha, Wright and Gutierrez subjected her to "a litany of wrongful conduct including, verbal insults, increased scrutiny, subjected her to baseless criticisms, refused to investigate or prevent ongoing discrimination and harassment by a superior, and termination."
Trejo seeks monetary damages including lost wages, back pay and benefits, punitive damages for emotional distress and fees and costs. Trejo is represented by Dushawn Johnson of Law Office of Dushawn Johnson.