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Pritzker campaign official pushes back hard against latest lawsuit

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Illinois

* Press release…

A former field organizer has filed a federal lawsuit against the campaign of JB Pritzker for Governor in Illinois for her firing on the basis of sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Ms. Emma Todd worked in the Springfield, Illinois office of the campaign from August of 2017 to the end of March, 2018. She is represented by the New York City-based Law Office of Jillian T. Weiss and Oak Park, IL attorney Joanie Rae Wimmer.

Ms.Todd’s job performance came under heightened scrutiny after she was assigned a new supervisor in February of 2018. The supervisor did not issue feedback or warnings for poor conduct. Co-workers witnessed the supervisor making comments indicating that she viewed transgender identity in a prurient manner and said that Ms. Todd was “the reason people don’t like transgender people.” She told other employees that she was going to fire Ms. Todd and they have indicated they believe Ms. Todd was terminated because of her sex and gender.

“Ms. Todd’s improper termination has caused her to suffer a loss of wages and out-of-pocket medical and insurance payments, as well as loss of reputation,” said her attorney, Jillian T. Weiss. “The state of Illinois prohibits sex and gender identity discrimination and the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and federal courts in the state have ruled that discrimination against a transgender person based on their sex is a violation of law. No one should ever be fired on the basis of sex. The JB Pritzker for Governor campaign must be held accountable for this workplace bias.”

“I worked hard on this campaign and loved my job,” said Ms. Todd. “I was blindsided by my termination. I wholeheartedly supported and voted for Governor JB Pritzker and Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton to end Bruce Rauner’s heartless administration. JB and Juliana will bring economic stability after more than two years without a state budget under Rauner. They will also protect services for underserved communities that Rauner has hurt. This lawsuit does not change my support for these highly qualified people. I am bringing this lawsuit because transgender people, like all Americans, deserve the same chance to earn a living, free from discrimination.”

This case is Emma Todd v. JB for Governor Campaign. It was filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The lawsuit is here.

* A Pritzker campaign spokesperson told me Todd was “fired for cause” because of several “performance issues.”

For instance, Todd treated campaign volunteers “poorly,” and used profanity with volunteers, the spokesperson alleged. Todd also posted “sexually explicit images” at her workplace and refused to take them down when asked, the spokesperson said.

Todd was allegedly let go after the primary when the campaign “downsized.” Her last paycheck was issued on March 30th.

And, the Pritzker spokesperson claimed, the campaign wasn’t even aware of Todd’s sexual orientation or her sexual identity when she was let go.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Jan 18, 19 @ 5:14 pm

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