EAST ST. LOUIS - U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity commissioners moved to dismiss their discrimination suit against Sis-Bro pig weaning business of New Athens on Feb. 14.
The commission’s assistant regional attorney Ethan Cohen of Chicago stated he filed the motion “in light of recent administration policy changes.”
He stated further litigation might be inconsistent with President Trump’s order defending women from and restoring biological truth.
He asked Senior U.S. District Judge Phil Gilbert to allow 30 days for the person who alleged discrimination, Natasha Figueroa, to renew her intervention in the case.
Sis-Bro belongs to Clare Schilling and Drew Schilling, sister and brother, who operate it on their family farm.
Sis-Bro weans pigs from their mothers and provides a diet that prepares them for farm life.
Equal opportunity commissioners sued Sis-Bro last March claiming it violated rights of former employee Natasha Figueroa on the basis of transgender status.
They alleged offensive speech and actions by an employee they identified by first name.
They claimed Clare Schilling used Figueroa’s previous name and called him a man.
Sis-Bro moved to dismiss the complaint and Gilbert denied it in August.
He found that whether conduct was severe or pervasive enough to constitute an objectively hostile environment could be decided on summary judgment or at trial.
Figueroa moved to intervene four days later, Gilbert granted it and James Dore of Chicago filed an intervenor complaint.
The commission’s case suffered at a hearing in November on its motion to quash a subpoena on Figueroa’s current employer.
Sis-Bro counsel Scott Cruz of Chicago told Gilbert that pay stubs showed Figueroa used an alias of Tania Sauceda.
He said Figueroa used a different social security number from what she provided to Sis-Bro.
He said he asked for a social security number and she answered that she didn’t have one.
He said Figueroa herself didn’t join the motion.
Gilbert asked Cruz if he talked to Figueroa’s counsel and he said counsel refused to respond.
He said, “No one’s going to have information because we don’t know what name she’s using.”
Cruz said they shouldn’t have filed the motion and Gilbert said he was curious too.
He said he needed a hearing and the intervenor had to appear.
He set it Jan. 21.
On Jan. 16 Figueroa and Sis-Bro stipulated to dismiss the intervenor complaint.
Gilbert postponed the hearing to Feb. 20 but after Trump signed the order the commission moved to stay the action and Gilbert stayed it until March 2.
At last report no one could find the employee who allegedly committed wrongful acts.
On the same date that the commissioners dismissed the complaint against Sis-Bro they dismissed a complaint against the owner of Wendy’s in Carbondale.
They alleged discrimination against two males born as females and a female born male.
They claimed supervisors told the former female he could not use the men’s bathroom because he did not have a penis.
They claimed a manager told a former male not to use the women’s restroom.