MIAMI, December 2, 2022 - JD Howlette Law recently announced that it filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of Immigration Officer Yadira Dominguez. According to the amended complaint, the management team at the Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate (FDNS) office in Miami, Florida engaged in persistent acts of unlawful sex-based discrimination and retaliation against Ms. Dominguez for several years. Ms. Dominguez claims that, despite her years of stellar work performance and professional accolades, Defendants began targeting her following a complaint she made reporting inappropriate conduct on the part of her male supervisor.

The amended complaint alleges that Defendants forced Ms. Dominguez-a Hispanic female and mother to two minor children-to endure a nearly 4-year long hostile and toxic work environment replete with acts of racism, sexism, misogyny, intimidation, humiliation, discrimination, and retaliation. Ms. Dominguez alleges that Defendants' unlawful conduct consisted of, among other things:

According to Ms. Dominguez, her first-line supervisor is well-known for making disparaging and offensive remarks about females working in upper management at the office, all of whom are minorities. For instance, the supervisor has repeatedly referred to female managers as "the b-word," negatively referred to the female Field Office Director as "Big Mama," and has made offensive statements regarding Hispanic and/or Latino cultures. Ms. Dominguez alleges that despite her persistent and passionate pleas for help, Defendants failed to take adequate remedial measures to protect her right to work in an environment free from unlawful discrimination, retaliation, or other inappropriate workplace misconduct.

As far as harm, the amended complaint alleges that Dominguez has been forced to seek professional therapy services, consume prescription medications, and undergo emergency medical treatment as a means of coping with the high levels of anxiety, depression, and trauma inflicted upon her by Defendants' unlawful conduct. Ms. Dominguez also claims to have expended nearly $90,000 on legal fees in her efforts to vindicate her civil rights before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The amended complaint alleges that Defendants' actions violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, which prohibits federal agencies like USCIS from engaging in discriminatory personnel actions based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, and from retaliating against an employee for participating in the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) process. In addition to compensatory damages, Ms. Dominguez seeks an injunction requiring managers and supervisors in the FDNS at the Kendall Field Office to complete annual employment discrimination training, in a manner and format approved by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Tags: Miami, Department of Homand Security, Unlawful Discrimination, Hostile Work Environment, sex discrimination, Title VII claims, unlawful retaliation, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, Kendall Field Office

See Campaign: https://www.jdhowlettelaw.com/

Contact Information:

Name: Jordan HowletteEmail: [email protected] Title: Managing Attorney