BELLEVILLE – An Ameren employee claims he was discriminated against when he was unreasonably suspended without pay after an address mix-up.
Lamarce Tart filed a lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against defendant Ameren Illinois Company, citing discrimination in violation of the Illinois Human Rights Act.
According to the lawsuit, Tart is employed by the defendant as a gas serviceman and has been employed since 1981. Tart states that on Nov. 17, 2019 at 3:42 am., he was dispatched by Ameren to a reported gas leak in Cahokia. He claims he arrived at a location he thought to be the correct location on Ambrose Drive and pressed the arrived button on his truck. According to Tart, he later learned that the actual location of the gas leak was at an address nearby on Ambrose Circle, and that he mixed up the similar addresses because it was too dark to see the area. He then proceed to the correct location to address the gas leak.
The plaintiff alleges that months later on Feb. 18, 2020, Ameren accused him of falsifying documents in regards to the gas leak on Nov. 17, 2019, by hitting the "arrived" button in his vehicle when he was not yet at the correct location. Ameren reportedly suspended Tart for one day without pay for this alleged offense.
The lawsuit states that upon learning he was being suspended, Tart experienced a tightness in his chest and was unable to breath. Tart says that he had to go to the hospital and was unable to work until April 6, 2020.
Tart alleges he was discriminated against by his employer because he was black and that white employees in positions similar to his would not have been accused of falsifying documents or suspended without pay.
Tart claims he has suffered personal injury, emotional embarrassment, inconvenience, loss of earning capacity and hospital expenses. He is seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus court costs, attorney fees, and any other relief that court deems proper.
Tart is represented in this case by attorney Edward J. Szewczyk of Pratt & Tobin, P.C. in East Alton.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 2022-LA-0328