Deandre Meyers has filed a lawsuit against Target Corporation in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. The case ID is 20241107896 and it was filed on March 21, 2024. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act (IWCA) and retaliatory discharge.
Meyers, who was employed as a warehouse worker by Target in Chicago since August 21, 2021, claims that he was unlawfully terminated on February 17, 2024. He alleges that during his employment, Target discriminated against him due to his exercise of rights under the IWCA.
In late 2022, Meyers suffered a back injury and returned to work in early 2023. Upon his return, he felt regularly reprimanded and complained to HR about the treatment but no action was taken. On December 18, 2023, Meyers sustained an injury to his left wrist at work which was diagnosed as carpal tunnel syndrome. After initiating a Workers’ Compensation claim and taking leave, he returned to work on January 22, 2024.
After returning to work, the plaintiff alleges experiencing retaliation based on his workers' compensation leave including sitting in a single spot for the duration of his 10 hour shift without breaks. He again lodged complaints with the local and national HR departments.
On February 17th, 2024, he was terminated for drawing on a small piece of paper while waiting for more work to come to his station. When the plaintiff inquired as what he was supposed to do for these long periods of time with no work, his supervisor allegedly told him to "just sit there and wait."
The plaintiff seeks redress for these alleged violations and is seeking no less than $50,000 in damages including back pay, front pay, loss of benefits, compensatory and punitive damages and attorney's fees.