A Denton County woman is suing her former employer, Teracore Inc. and ICF International Inc., over claims of race, sex, sexual orientation and disability discrimination.
Julie Martinez filed the suit June 23 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against Teracore Inc. and ICF International Inc.
According to the complaint, Martinez began working at Teracore and ICF International in October 2012. Both are contract companies providing labor to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Denton. She worked as the regional preparedness liaison and her year-end review for 2013 ranked her job performance a 3.9 out of 4.
Shortly thereafter, the plaintiff attended a meeting of the Rowlett Citizen Corps Council. She says she had the approval of a supervisor, who said she could go as a volunteer and not an employee of FEMA.
After the meeting, Tony Robinson, FEMA Region VI regional administrator, received a letter from the group, thanking him for sending the plaintiff to the meeting but also expressing disappointment that a FEMA representative did not attend.
Two supervisors then asked the plaintiff to write a response on behalf of Robinson, she claims, lying about why a representative from FEMA was not in attendance. After she refused, her work situation became very tense and intimidating, she says, and she was terminated Jan. 24, 2014. The claim states that Martinez was called derogatory names and that supervisors "had it out" for her because of her race, disability and sex.
In addition to a jury trial, the plaintiff seeks damages, lost wages, court costs and attorney's fees. She is represented by Jay C. English of the English Law Group PLLC in Dallas.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas case number 4:15-cv-00421.