BELLEVILLE – A former Cahokia Heights employee claims he was wrongfully terminated from his job due to a disability he sustained from a workplace injury.
Plaintiff Montuelle Day filed the lawsuit in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against the City of Cahokia Heights, citing discrimination.
According to the lawsuit, Day was previously employed as a laborer by Cahokia Heights' sewer department. Day was injured on the job by falling into a hole on June 12, 2017. The plaintiff states that he severely injured his back and was put on disability. Day had to undergo multiple surgeries, but he was able to return to work in the fall of 2020.
Day states that his back still hurt after he returned to work and he requested accommodations to help him perform his job. On April 27, 2021, the plaintiff slipped and fell off a truck while on duty, re-injuring his back. He returned to work on April 30. On May 6, the plaintiff was told that he was being fired and received an official letter of termination on May 14, 2021.
Day claims he has not received any negative performance reviews or documentation of misconduct and believes that he was being terminated due to his disability and in retaliation for claiming worker's compensation benefits.
The plaintiff is seeking damages for emotional distress, humiliation, damage to his reputation, lost wages and benefits, attorney's fees, court costs, interest and any other relief the court deems proper. He is represented in this case by attorney Sarah N. Swatosh of the Law Office of Sarah N. Swatosh in St. Louis.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 23LA0382