ST. LOUIS – A recent civil lawsuit filed by Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC on behalf of a St. Louis worker against global corporation Firmenich, Inc. (doing business as DSM-Firmenich), alleges egregious violations of the Missouri Human Rights Act and the Missouri Workers’ Compensation Laws, including denying basic workplace accommodations, refusing to engage in job restructuring, and executing a retaliatory firing.
According to the petition, the former employee, who suffers from a serious spinal condition following a 2020 fusion surgery, was hired in January 2023 and successfully performed his assigned duties. Despite this, Firmenich’s management abruptly reassigned the employee in June 2024 to a different job that physically punished the employee, and required constant heavy lifting, bending, and twisting, which directly conflicted with the employee’s known medical limitations.
Despite informing supervisors of these limitations and requesting workplace accommodations, the employee’s requests were allegedly ignored. The lawsuit further alleges a supervisor told the employee in front of coworkers that the company “would not have hired you” if it had known about the disability.
Even after both the employee and a company-designated physician advised against repetitive lifting, Firmenich allegedly refused to modify the employee’s duties. Instead, the company’s human resource officials ignored repeated complaints, suspended the employee without pay, and attempted to push the employee onto short-term disability to conceal the company’s conduct. The Missouri Human Rights Act makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate on the basis of an individual’s disability.
After reporting discrimination and retaliation, the employee was suspended and then fired. The lawsuit also alleges the company even backdated discipline in an apparent attempt to cover its tracks. The Missouri Human Rights Act makes it illegal for employers to retaliate against an employee for asserting their rights.
The employee’s attorney, Cyrus Dashtaki, said, “This is a textbook case of corporate abuse of power.” Dashtaki added, “They ignored medical restrictions, suspended him after requesting accommodations, and then fired him for refusing to stay silent. We intend to hold the company fully accountable in front of a jury.”
Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC exclusively represents employees standing up against employment discrimination based on age, race, sex, religion, national origin or disability. Please visit www.Dashtaki.com for more information.