HOUSTON – A Montgomery man claims he was wrongfully terminated from Union Pacific Railroad Co. in a federal lawsuit filed against the company.
Johnnie Couch refutes Union Pacific’s allegations he abused his FMLA leave, stating the defendant misconstrued pictures of him and his wife that he posted on Facebook.
Court documents filed on Apr. 19 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas explain that Couch went on leave to take his ailing wife on a trip to visit family.
“Couch was, in fact, on the trip exactly because of his wife’s condition, which his doctor verified to Union Pacific,” the original petition says.
The suit adds the plaintiff attempted to clarify the trip and the pictures to no avail as the defendant terminated him.
He asserts the termination was a form of retaliation against him to exercising his FMLA rights.
Consequently, Couch seeks nearly $400,000 in damages.
Nicholas D. Thompson of The Moody Law Firm in Portsmouth, Va. and Marc A. Zito of Jones Granger in Houston are representing the complainant.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas Case No. 4:18-CV-1229