A mother recently filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart in in Jefferson County District Court after her son was fired from his position at the retail giant. The Southeast Texas Record reports that Texas employment lawyer Tommy Yeates will be representing the plaintiff, seeking economic and punitive damages for his client.
Wal Mart representatives said that they fired Deborah Gernentz's son, Jeremy Gernetz, because the company had received complaints regarding Mr. Gernetz's hygiene and body odor. But the mother claims that the foul smelling B.O was just an excuse and that her son's termination was actually because he had tried to file a workers' compensation claim
Mr. Gernetz, who worked full-time at the Port Arthur Wal-Mart location, suffered from a hand injury last December while he was working on the job. Because he needed surgery, he applied for worker's compensation. However, Mr. Mr. Gernetz was fired a few days after he had filed for worker's compensation.
So was the Wal-Mart employee really fired for his bad B.O.? According to the Southeast Texas Record, the suit states "Plaintiff alleges that was but a pretense ... and the real reason for the termination was the Jeremy sustained a reportable on-the-job injury and subsequently filed a workers' compensation claim."
Employees have certain legal rights in the workplace; where an employer cannot discharge an employee for just any reason. Both federal and state laws are in place to protect workers from being wrongfully terminated. Yet Texas employment lawyers deal with wrongful termination cases on a regular basis and can help Texans who are interested in filing a claim.
Related Resources:
- Wrongful Termination Claims (FindLaw)
- Wrongful Discharge Claims Skyrocket; What Makes a Termination Wrongful? (FindLaw's Free Enterprise blog)
- Texas Employment Lawyer Directory (FindLaw)
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