NEW ORLEANS – A Tangipahoa Parish woman alleges her employer, Internal Medicine Clinic, unlawfully terminated her for leave allowed under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Mindy Victoriana filed a lawsuit July 24 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Internal Medicine Clinic of Tangipahoa LLC, alleging violations of the FMLA and other unlawful employment practices.
According to the complaint, Victoriana started work for the defendant as a $12-an-hour receptionist/clerk in March 2011. In 2014, she requested time off to travel to New York for an in vitro fertilization procedure, with the understanding that the practice’s partners would have to approve the request. When her request was denied, Victoriana went ahead with the procedure, but was terminated upon her return.
The plaintiff alleges that her time off should have counted under the FMLA, which ensures workers up to 12 weeks off for health and other issues. In addition, Victoriana claims a co-worker was allowed time off for a similar procedure.
Victoriana seeks a jury trial and punitive and compensatory damages, including back pay and reinstatement to her job. She is represented by Thomas J. Hogan Jr. of Hammond.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Case number 2:15-cv-02915