IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE EIGHTEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
DALE BAKER,
Plaintiff,
v. CASE NO.
NORBERT DORSEY AS BISHOP
OF THE DIOCESE OF ORLANDO,
A Corporation Sole
Defendant.
___________________________/
COMPLAINT AND DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff, DALE BAKER, by and through her undersigned attorney, sues Defendant, NORBERT DORSEY AS BISHIP OF THE DIOCESE OF ORLANDO, A CORPORATION SOLE (hereinafter referred to as the “Diocese”) and alleges the following:
1. This action is brought to obtain relief for discrimination committed by Defendant against Plaintiff on the basis of Plaintiff’s age and religion.
2. This is an action for damages in excess of Fifteen Thousand Dollars ($15,000.00), exclusive of interest, costs and attorney fees.
3. The unlawful practices alleged below were committed within Brevard County, Florida.
4. Plaintiff resided in Brevard County, Florida at all times material hereto.
5. Defendant, NORBERT DORSEY AS BISHIP OF THE DIOCESE OF ORLANDO, is a corporation sole in the state of Florida, which at the time of the acts complained of herein employed 15 or more persons and was engaged in an industry affecting commerce.
6. Plaintiff, was employed by Defendant at Melbourne Central Catholic High School in Brevard County from August 2001 until she was discharged by Defendant from her position as a chemistry teacher on or about May 29, 2003, when her contract was not renewed for the 2003-2004 school year.
7. At all times, Plaintiff performed all duties assigned to her in a professionally competent manner, faithfully followed all reasonable instructions given to her by her supervisors, and abided by all the rules and regulations of Defendant.
8. Plaintiff has suffered and continues to suffer grave and severe damage to her financial welfare, and her employment prospects, by reason of Defendant’s discriminatory actions against Plaintiff.
9. Plaintiff has suffered severe mental anguish and emotional distress as a result of Defendant’s actions.
10. On or about August 19, 2003, Plaintiff filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (attached hereto as Exhibit “A”) alleging discrimination based on religion.
11. On or about March 3, 2004, Plaintiff filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (attached hereto as Exhibit “B”) alleging discrimination based on age.
12. Pursuant to the Work Share Agreement between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Florida Commission on Human Relations, Plaintiff’s charges of discrimination were dual-filed with the Florida Commission on Human Relations when she filed her charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
13. More than one hundred eighty (180) days have passed since the filing of Plaintiff’s charges of discrimination, and the Florida Commission on Human Relations has not entered a determination on Plaintiff’s claims.
14. Plaintiff has exhausted her administrative remedies and complied with all conditions precedent prior to bringing this action.
15. Plaintiff has retained the undersigned attorneys and agreed to pay them a reasonable fee.
COUNT I
RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION
STATE CLAIM
16. This is an action for religious discrimination brought pursuant to Chapter 760, Florida Statutes.
17. Plaintiff realleges and incorporates Paragraphs 1 through 10 and 12 through 15 of this Complaint, as if set forth in full herein.
18. During Plaintiff’s employment with Defendant, Plaintiff was assigned to work as a chemistry teacher at Melbourne Central Catholic High School, a school operated by the Defendant.
19. Defendant, NORBERT DORSEY AS BISHIP OF THE DIOCESE OF ORLANDO, is a Catholic organization and Melbourne Central Catholic High School is a Catholic high school.
19. Plaintiff is a member of the Baptist Faith.
20. When Plaintiff first started work at Melbourne Central Catholic High School she sought and received approval of the principal to implement a classroom procedure to put scriptures from the Catholic Bible on her classroom bulletin board and have a different scripture every week for the students to memorize, which would be worth one point on a test.
21. The school received several complaints from parents regarding her use of scriptures, however the principal approved of Plaintiff’s continued use of scriptures in her classroom during the 2001-2002 school year.
22. In August 2002, the principal met with Plaintiff and informed her that the superintendent wanted her to stop putting the scriptures on her classroom bulletin board, which Plaintiff did.
23. At one point during the 2002-2003 school year, Plaintiff was told to stop retesting her students when they did not perform well on a test. Later in the year she was told to offer retesting or reworking of incorrect problems to her students who did not perform well on a test. Plaintiff followed the instructions of her supervisors as directed.
24. At one point Plaintiff received a letter informing her that if she did not make changes she would not be teaching at Melbourne Central Catholic during the next school year. Plaintiff made changes as requested by her supervisors.
25. Plaintiff received a rating of satisfactory on all of her evaluations which was the highest rating and had also received praise for her teaching style.
26. Plaintiff was terminated at the end of the 2002-2003 school year.
27. Plaintiff was informed by her supervisor that her termination was due to her being Baptist and her use of scripture in the classroom.
28. Plaintiff was replaced by a Melbourne Central Catholic alumni in her twenties, who had just graduated from college and is Catholic.
29. Plaintiff’s termination was based on her religion.
30. In terminating Plaintiff’s employment based on her religion, Defendant violated the provisions of Section 760.10(1), Florida Statutes, which makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge or fail or refuse to hire any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s religion.
31. Because of termination based on religious discrimination, perpetrated by Defendant, Plaintiff has suffered loss of employment, loss of dignity and emotional pain and suffering.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendant, for all damages to which he may be entitled, including, but not limited to:
a) Judgment for back pay and front pay, including all sums of money Plaintiff would have earned, together with such other increases to which she would be entitled had she not been discriminatorily discharged, expenses incurred by Plaintiff in her job search, and loss of benefits, including, but not limited to, all money paid for health benefits and loss of vacation entitlement;
b) Compensatory damages including, but not limited to, mental anguish, loss of dignity and other intangible injuries;
c) Punitive damages;
d) An award of reasonable attorney’s fees and all costs incurred herein; and
e) All other damages to which Plaintiff may be entitled.
COUNT I
AGE DISCRIMINATION
STATE CLAIM
32. This is an action for age discrimination brought pursuant to Chapter 760, Florida Statutes.
33. Plaintiff incorporates and realleges paragraphs 1 through 9, 11 through 15, 18, 23 through 26 above, as fully as if set forth in full herein.
34. At the time of her discharge, Plaintiff was fourty-nine (49) years of age, having been born on January 18, 1954.
35. Plaintiff was replaced by a teacher in her twenties who had just graduated from college.
36. The termination of Plaintiff’s employment was motivated by the intent of Defendant, to discriminate against Plaintiff on the basis of her age.
37. In its termination of Plaintiff’s employment, the Defendant discriminated against Plaintiff on the basis of her age.
38. In terminating Plaintiff’s employment based on Plaintiff’s age, Defendant violated the provisions of Section 760.10(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2003), which makes it unlawful for an employer to discharge or to fail or refuse to hire any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual’s age.
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, Plaintiff prays for judgment against Defendant, for all damages to which he may be entitled, including, but not limited to:
a) Judgment for back pay and front pay, including all sums of money Plaintiff would have earned, together with such other increases to which she would be entitled had she not been discriminatorily discharged, expenses incurred by Plaintiff in her job search, and loss of benefits, including, but not limited to, all money paid for health benefits and loss of vacation entitlement;
b) Compensatory damages including, but not limited to, mental anguish, loss of dignity and other intangible injuries;
c) Punitive damages;
d) An award of reasonable attorney’s fees and all costs incurred herein; and
f) All other damages to which Plaintiff may be entitled.
DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
Plaintiff demands a jury trial on all issues herein triable by jury.
DATED: This ____ day of August, 2004.
Wayne L. Allen, Esquire
Florida Bar No. 110025
Adrienne E. Trent, Esquire
Florida Bar No. 060119
Daniel A. Perez
Florida Bar No. 426903
Attorneys For Plaintiff
Allen & Trent, P.A.
700 N. Wickham Road, Suite 107
Melbourne, Florida 32935
Phone: (321) 254-7550
Fax: (321) 242-1681
