Lynette Weatherspoon has filed a sexual harassment and discrimination complaint against Groendyke Transport, Inc. The lawsuit was filed on May 29, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois, East St. Louis Division.
According to the complaint, Weatherspoon alleges that she was subjected to sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination during her employment as a truck driver for Groendyke Transport from March 2022 until her termination on December 4, 2022. The complaint details several incidents of alleged misconduct by her colleagues and supervisors.
Weatherspoon claims that on November 22, 2022, while waiting for a new truck assignment due to maintenance issues with her vehicle, she was approached by another truck driver identified as C.R., an Asian male. After declining his offer of food, C.R. allegedly made inappropriate comments and gestures towards her. "When an Asian offers you food, you accept it. Next time, I’ll stick something else in your mouth," he reportedly said while making sexual innuendos by rotating his hips suggestively.
Despite reporting this incident to her supervisor Joshua Weber and later to another safety officer named Jackie (last name unknown), no action was taken. On December 1, 2022, Weatherspoon experienced further harassment when another colleague, Ray Gladney, made derogatory comments about her being a stripper in front of Weber who did not intervene or correct Gladney's behavior.
Weatherspoon asserts that she met or exceeded performance expectations throughout her tenure at Groendyke Transport but was terminated under pretextual reasons related to logging directives from Mr. Weber on December 4, 2022. She believes her termination was a direct result of her complaints about the harassment and discrimination she faced.
The plaintiff is seeking various forms of relief including back pay and benefits with interest; front pay and benefits; compensatory damages for emotional pain and suffering; pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; injunctive relief; punitive damages; reasonable attorney’s fees and costs; and any other relief deemed just and equitable by the court.
The case is being handled by Chad W. Eisenback from Sulaiman Law Group Ltd., representing Lynette Weatherspoon. The case ID is 3:24-cv-01406-JPG.