NEW ORLEANS — An individual assistance reservist with FEMA has filed suit against her employer for alleged wrongful termination and violating federal law after she was relieved of her position following a deployment.
Sherry Spurlin filed a complaint July 12 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana against Christwood LLC, alleging that the former employer violated the Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in March, she was a part of FEMA that deploys reservists to manage the national emergency in Baton Rouge. During her 30-day leave, she supposedly went to work every Monday on her days off from FEMA. On April 26, she received an email stating that the deployment would be a burden to the staff and as a result, she was relieved from her duties, court documents show. The plaintiff holds Christwood LLC responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to reinstate her after her leave, terminated her as voluntary due to failure to return from federal protected leave of absence.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks back pay, front pay, lost benefits, liquidated damages, attorney's fees and litigation expenses. She is represented by Christa Hayes Forrester of Peragine Law Firm LLC in Covington.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 216-cv-12692