City of Austin employee sues for gender discrimination

Austin Watershed Protection Department Managing Engineer Mapi Vigil, who worked for the City of Austin for close to 30 years, sued the city for gender discrimination. The lawsuit came after Vigil applied for an assistant director position but was passed over for a male candidate, despite her high performance reviews and years of loyalty.

Vigil filed an internal grievance with the city’s human resources department to complain about the promotion of a less-qualified male candidate. However, the grievance officer denied her complaint. Her supervisor then gave her a two-day suspension, threatened to fire her, and slapped her with a written reprimand for being disrespectful. After HR opened an investigation into allegations of unprofessional conduct made by her supervisor but ignored Vigil’s recording of her conservation with the supervisor, she filed a complaint with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Vigil’s case ended up going to court, where a grand jury awarded her $751,000 in compensation for the retaliation she faced.

You can hold your employers accountable for their unfair actions toward you by filing an employment lawsuit against them with the legal help of the attorneys at The Melton Law Firm. Call our Austin offices today to learn more at (512) 330-0017.