Yolanda Williams, a former employee at a skilled nursing facility in Houston, Texas, has filed a lawsuit against her previous employers for retaliation and wrongful termination. The complaint was filed on March 27, 2025, in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, naming Cascades at Jacinto Rehab, LP; Cascades at Jacinto LP; Cascades at Jacinto; and Cascades Healthcare of Texas, LLC as defendants.
The case revolves around allegations of workplace misconduct and discrimination. Yolanda Williams worked as a Registered Nurse and supervisor at the facility. She claims that during her employment, she witnessed abuse and negligence by another employee, Joshua Adekanbi. Despite having a history of abuse allegations from before the defendants purchased the facility, Mr. Adekanbi was rehired by them. His alleged misconduct included neglecting patient care duties and using illegal drugs while on duty. Furthermore, Mr. Adekanbi is accused of harassing a fellow employee, Matthew Sowders—who suffers from multiple disabilities and is homosexual—by making derogatory comments about his sexual orientation and threatening him with physical violence.
Williams reported these incidents to her superiors but alleges that instead of addressing the issues, they retaliated against her for speaking out. On April 13, 2024, after reporting Mr. Adekanbi's threats towards Mr. Sowders to Director of Nursing Cowando Keys via text message—a report which Ms. Keys dismissed as "bs"—Williams faced hostility from management. She was subsequently terminated within hours after attempting to escalate the matter to Administrator Braunwyn Delco.
In her lawsuit, Williams argues that her termination was in violation of the Texas Occupation Code § 301.4025(c) and Texas Administrative Code Title 22 § 217.19(m), which protect employees who report unsafe practices or discrimination in good faith from retaliation by their employers.
Williams seeks monetary relief ranging between $250,000 and $1 million for damages including back pay, front pay, mental anguish both past and future, attorney’s fees as well as punitive damages due to what she perceives as egregious conduct by her former employers.
Representing Yolanda Williams are attorneys David B. Joeckel Jr., State Bar No. 10669700; Cullen Flaherty; State Bar No. 24144355 from The Joeckel Law Office located in Fort Worth Texas. The case has been assigned Case ID: 2025-20762 with proceedings taking place under Judge Marilyn Burgess at Harris County District Court.