Orange County Employment Lawyers Blog
A female auto shop worker will be allowed to pursue her claim of sexual harassment against her employer, although other claims of disability discrimination and wrongful termination on the basis of race, religion and national origin were dismissed. 
The Connecticut Supreme Court recently reversed the trial court decision on the issue of sexual harassment in Feliciano v. Autozone, Inc., in which plaintiff is a black woman from the U.S. Virgin Islands who practices the Rastafarian religion. As part of that religion, she wears her hair in dreadlocks.
In the spring of 2007, the company became aware of a situation in which nearly 20 transactions were flagged for potential abuse of a customer awards loyalty program discount. Those transactions were all processed by plaintiff, who later conceded she had allowed other employees to use her customer service number. She admitted this was wrong. Termination of employment was recommended on the grounds of violating the company’s loss prevention policy. Within a week, she was fired.
