NEW ORLEANS – An Orleans Parish woman says her employer, The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts Institute, discriminated against her by failing to accommodate her disability.
Julie Winn filed a lawsuit Dec. 30 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts Institute, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the complaint, Winn started with the Center as a costume designer and instructor in 2001, receiving exemplary evaluations for her first seven years. In 2008, Winn says she was diagnosed with depression, managing it with therapy and medication for the next five years.
However, the suit says that in 2013, amid concerns about her performance, the center’s management reassigned her to a new position with fewer hours and lower wages and benefits. Winn claims that after the center rejected her doctor’s suggestions to accommodate her disability without cutting her hours, the center terminated her by eliminating her position.
Winn seeks a jury trial and damages and is represented by attorney G. Karl Bernard of G. Karl Bernard & Associates LLC in New Orleans.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana Case number 2:15-cv-07168