MARSHALL - A female manager at a Jacksonville restaurant has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against her former employer claiming she was terminated after she gave a police officer the building's security code.
Leslie Frentress filed suit against Brinker International Inc. on May 10 in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division.
Frentress was terminated from Chili's Bar and Grill in Jacksonville on April 29, 2011, for a "security procedure failure."
According to the lawsuit, Frentress gave a police officer her security code to turn off the alarm on the building after it sounded in the middle of the night.
Frentress states that a male manager did not lose his position under similar circumstances.
The defendant is accused of gender discrimination for failing to equalize conditions of employment, for adopting unreasonable, unwarranted and arbitrary standards and conditions of employment and for subjecting Frentress to a sexually hostile working environment.
The plaintiff is seeking damages for actual, compensatory damages, back pay, front pay, interest, mental distress, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of life, punitive damages, attorney's fees, and court costs.
A jury trial is requested.
Frentress is represented by Tyler attorney William S. Hommel Jr.
U.S. District Judge Michael H. Schneider is assigned to the case.
Case No. 2:12-cv-00285