A Halifax dairy worker has sued a Harrisburg dairy, alleging discrimination, retaliation and violation of employment law.
Christopher Young filed a lawsuit April 28 against Harrisburg Dairies Inc. in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, alleging employment rights infringements in October 2014.
According to the complaint, Young, a former Harrisburg Dairies employee, was hired in November 2011 as a delivery driver. The suit says he underwent two surgeries for a work-related injury in spring 2013, receiving health care coverage and worker’s compensation expenses.
The suit states when Young was unable to lift heavy items after the injury, he was transferred to the position of machine operator in early November 2013; and then, having provided his supervisor with a doctor’s note validating a medical need to take hourly breaks for hydration and bathroom use, became a plant laborer on the dairy’s assembly line March 1, 2014.
The suit says Young’s employer failed to honor his accommodation, especially after the parties reached an agreement regarding his earlier claim Sept. 25, 2014. The suit states Young was dismissed Oct. 17, 2014, on false pretexts.
Young alleges he was fired in retaliation for his worker’s compensation and medical condition. He cites his former employer for failure to accommodate his disabilities. He also cites the the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA).
Young seeks an amount equal to his lost wages and benefits, compensatory damages, attorney fees and court costs. He is represented by attorney Joseph Chivers and Jerffrey Chivers of The Employment Rights Group in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania case number: 1:15-cv-00835-JEJ.