SHERMAN – A McKinney man alleges he was terminated from his position as a district manager because he took a leave to care for his wife.
Jeffrey A. Jennings filed a complaint on Dec. 6, 2017, in the Sherman District of the Eastern District of Texas against O’Reilly Auto Enterprises LLC, doing business as O’Reilly Auto Parts, alleging that the auto parts retailer violated the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff began employment with the defendant in 1999 and was a district manager at the time of his termination. The suit states he took an FMLA leave to care for his terminally ill wife and asked for an extension of the leave in October 2016 when his wife was transferred to hospice care. The suit states on Oct. 12, 2016, he was told that because he had exhausted his FMLA leave, he would be terminated the next day unless he came back to work, which he said he could not do. The suit states the plaintiff's wife died on Oct. 14, 2016.
The plaintiff holds O’Reilly Auto Enterprises LLC responsible because the defendant allegedly discriminated and retaliated against for exercising his FMLA rights and terminated him before his retirement benefits could be fully vested.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks actual, compensatory and punitive damages, reinstatement or front pay and benefits, interest, attorneys’ fees and costs and any further legal and equitable relief. He is represented by Joseph H. Gillespie of Gillespie Sanford LLP in Dallas.
Sherman District of the Eastern District of Texas case number 4:17-cv-00837