Former employee suing Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance over firing

A former employee of the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance is suing the organization over claims she was fired for raising security concerns at her job.

Lauren Gonzales filed the lawsuit Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court and claims she was fired after she filed a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Gonzales, who is Hispanic, says she was working alone at the facility on March 31 when she was approached by a visitor “with an odd and aggressive demeanor” who told her “I am from the Trump administration and this is your last day.”

The “threatening remark” by the visitor made her fear for her safety and for the safety of others who work at the conservatory, according to the suit. She addressed her concerns with her supervisors, including that the visitor might return.

At the end of May, Gonzales attended a meeting with mangers and three other female employees, at which time the female employees again raised concerns about employee security, the suit says. They suggested a “panic button” be installed at the front desk.

On June 5, Gonzales was issued a disciplinary write-up for for continuing to raise concerns about the conservatory’s failure to address the security issues she had brought up, the suit says. She the filed her complaint with OSHA and advised her supervisors she had done so.

One supervisor “expressed his annoyance” that she filed an OSHA complaint, and on June 18, she was told via a text message that her employment was being terminated, the suit says.

Prior to raising security concerns with management, Gonzales said she was employed at the conservatory between April 2014 and August 2015, and then was rehired in May 2016 due to “her outstanding job performance” and the alliance’s “satisfaction with her job performance.”

Gonzales seeks damages for lost wages and benefits, as well as to be reinstated in her position, according to court documents. If she is not rehired, she additionally seeks more than $1 million in compensatory and punitive damages for emotional distress and for the cost of bringing the suit.

Gonzales is requesting a jury trial.