Crime & Safety
Disabled Ex-Beverly Hills Employee Claims Retaliation In Lawsuit
A former Beverly Hills city employee claims she was retaliated against on the job because she's disabled.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA — A former longtime employee of the city of Beverly Hills is suing the city, alleging she was targeted for retaliation due to her status as a disabled individual for having suffered a stroke decades earlier and being injured on the job.
Meseret Feuilladieu's Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges retaliation, disability discrimination, failure to accommodate and engage in the interactive process and failure to maintain a discrimination-free environment. She seeks unspecified damages in the suit filed Friday.
A city spokeswoman said Monday that the city attorney will review the case.
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According to her suit, 59-year-old Feuilladieu worked for the city for 20 years and has been legally disabled since 1988, when she lost full use of her left arm and hand after having a stroke. She began her career in Beverly Hills as a parking attendant and remained in the position until 2022, when her doctor said she had "residual leg weakness" from the stroke and could not constantly walk on the job, but could perform tasks without any problems on a computer in an office.
Feuilladieu also injured her right knee at work that same year, took some time off and returned to work a month later with lifting and bending restrictions, according to the suit, which further states that the plaintiff was subsequently transferred to a desk position and she capably performed work as a programs operations specialist.
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However, the conduct of Feuilladieu's supervisor became more retaliatory because of the plaintiff's disabilities, the suit states. The boss levied unwarranted criticisms and reprimands against the plaintiff about her job performance and gave Feuilladieu multiple tasks without time to accomplish them, the suit alleges.
The department never gave Feuilladieu a work evaluation and she was fired last November on the false excuse of an unsatisfactory job performance, according to the suit, which further states that Feuilladieu believes the real reason she lost her job was that she was disabled and needed accommodations as well as for her having filing a workers' compensation action.
Feuilladieu alleges she has lost income and suffered emotional distress since losing her city position.
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