HOUSTON – A former truck driver with the city’s solid waste management department has filed a wrongful termination lawsuit, recent Harris County District Court records indicate.
Martin Marquez’s suit, which was filed against Houston on May 10 in the Harris County 80th District Court, says the defendant fired him about three years ago for “no-call/no-show absences” though it instructed him not to report to duty until it was okay to do so.
Marquez explained that he suffered an on the job injury and filed a workers’ compensation claim in good faith. His doctor released him to light duty, and he asked the city to accommodate his restrictions and place him on light duty.
According to the original petition, the defendant removed the plaintiff from light duty, as well as told to send a physician’s release with no restrictions to the human resources department. The department supervisor would then call him and tell whether he was permitted to return to work, the suit says.
Court papers assert the complainant was never told that the document was accepted by the city or that he was cleared to work again. Marquez’s time away from his job as a senior refuse truck driver reportedly prompted the respondent to terminate him.
Consequently, the plaintiff seeks unspecified monetary damages.
He is represented by Craig R. Keener of Houston.
Harris County 80th District Court Case No. 2018-31830