PITTSBURGH — A Croatian woman is suing her former employer, the University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Bernard J. Costello, the associate dean for faculty affairs, for alleged racial discrimination and wrongful termination.
Snjezana Jelaca Bagic filed a complaint on April 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleging that the defendants violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that she was fired after Costello allegedly falsely stated that she had threatened to kill another colleague. The plaintiff claims that Costello made the false claim because he was biased against her ethnicity. As a result, the plaintiff claims that she has suffered financial damages, depression, humiliation, anxiety and emotional distress. The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible for allegedly terminating her employment without just cause.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks monetary damages in an amount that exceeds $100,000, plus any other appropriate relief. She is represented by Richard B. Sandow, John P. Corcoran Jr. and Ronald D. Amrhein Jr. of Jones, Gregg, Creehan & Gerace LLP in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case number 2:18-cv-00511-AJS