NEW ORLEANS – A Tangipahoa Parish man says the company he worked for cut his pay and benefits after he allegedly suffered a work-related knee injury.
George Franklin filed a lawsuit Jan. 4 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Woodgrain Distribution, alleging violations of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
According to the compliant, Franklin, a sales rep for Woodgrain’s Home Depot accounts, injured his knee in October 2014 after falling from standing to adjust in-store display brackets. Over the next several months, as Franklin was off work for surgery and physical therapy, the suit says his work was reassigned to another employee. When he was cleared to return in August, Woodgrain offered him a part-time position with no health benefits and a reduced salary, which he declined, the complaint states.
Franklin seeks a jury trial, either reinstatement or back pay, and punitive and compensatory damages, including legal costs. He is represented by attorney Thomas J. Hogan Jr. of the law firm of Hogan & Hogan in Hammond.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District Case number 2:16-CV-00036