Ex-Disney Employee Says Firing Tied to Gender Discrimination, Medical Depart

LOS ANGELES (CNS) – A former Walt Disney Co. employee is suing the entertainment giant, claiming she was fired in 2020 in retaliation for taking occasional medical vacations to be with her ailing son and asking about gender discrimination complained, even though one of the managers once referred to it as a “gift from God”.

Stephanie Jaramillo’s lawsuit in Superior Court in Los Angeles was filed on Monday seeking unspecified damages. A Disney representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Jaramillo was hired as a human resources assistant in November 2007 and was transferred to a position as a technology infrastructure employee at Walt Disney Imagineering in September 2014, the lawsuit states.

The plaintiff received good reviews for her work, and in November 2017 a manager stated, “Stephanie was a godsend,” the lawsuit reads.

Jaramillo is a single mother and principal carer for a son with health problems. In August 2018, she was granted temporary medical leave to care for her son under the state Family and Sick Leave Act.

Her boss was initially open to her vacation request and said she could have it for a year, the lawsuit said. In August 2019, she applied for another year’s vacation, to which her boss replied, “I think I can’t say no,” the lawsuit said.

However, the supervisor got angry and antagonistic and began to take revenge on Jaramillo. He showed his frustration by saying such things as “You are seldom here” and “You don’t work that much,” according to the lawsuit.

Whenever Jaramillo returns from a temporary medical break, the boss is said to have exposed her to unnecessary criticism, micromanaged her and adhered to different standards than other employees.

Jaramillo’s supervisor also isolated Jaramillo from other team members and did not invite them to team meetings, the lawsuit said. He denied her a raise in 2019, despite the fact that she has received one annually since she was hired.

Jaramillo’s supervisor reportedly treated male workers better than he did female employees, so she went to HR in October 2019 and complained about gender discrimination. She believes numerous other women who work for the same manager protested his alleged treatment

Women, depending on the suit.

Disney put Jaramillo on leave in April 2019 despite none of her work colleagues being on leave and she was fired on December 5, allegedly because of her gender discrimination complaint and because she had taken medical leave to be with her son, the lawsuit said.

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