NEW ORLEANS – A 69-year-old Jefferson Parish man says Walmart fired him after 13 years of service, allegedly over a half-gallon of milk.
Jonathan Mouton filed a lawsuit Nov. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Walmart Louisiana, citing racial and age-related workplace discrimination.
According to the complaint, Mouton was terminated June 21, 2014, after he failed to retrieve half-gallon milk container fast enough for a customer to satisfy manager Nakeitha Starks. Mouton had begun using a shopping basket to move milk when he stocked the coolers after undergoing hip surgery in 2012, a strategy the dairy manager at the time had approved. After a series of personnel changes, which the suit says brought in black managers, Mouton was discouraged from using the baskets.
On Oct. 28, 2014, store manager Travis Cutshaw upheld the firing, the suit claims, stating that Mouton, who is white, was “a bad employee.” However, before the incident, Mouton says he had received regular 40 cents an hour wage increases and positive evaluations.
Mouton seeks punitive and compensatory damages, plus litigation costs. He is represented by Metairie attorney Charlsey Wolff of the Law Office of Wolff and Wolff.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:15-cv-06021