Entertainment
Khloé Kardashian’s fashion company is fighting a cancer-stricken ex-employee’s wrongful termination lawsuit
May 9, 2024, published at 12:00 PM ET
Khloe Kardashian‘s fashion company Good American and its business partner Emma Grede denied causing mental distress to a cancer-stricken former employee – and demanded her wrongful dismissal case be dismissed out of court
This is evident from court documents obtained by RadarOnline.comGood American and Emma asked a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to dismiss all claims in the case brought by a former employee named Brooke in February.
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The lawsuit was filed by a former employee named Brooke, who accused the defendants of wrongful termination, cancer discrimination and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Khloe wasn’t mentioned as one defendant in the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Brooke said she was hired by Khloe’s fashion company as Marketing Coordinator in 2019. She said she regularly received praise from her bosses and was promoted several times.
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In June 2023, Brooke said her doctor recommended she work from home until she completed a series of treatments for cancer (non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma). She said she gave her bosses a note from her doctor saying she was “immune-compromised and sick.”
Brooke said her bosses were unhappy after reading the doctor’s note. She claimed they told her the request “undermined the organization.” The lawsuit alleged that bosses tried to make her take medical leave instead of accommodating her request to work remotely.
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In her complaint, Brooke said she saw a posting for her position appear after she submitted her request. She said she was fired a month after she asked to work remotely.
She said her bosses told her it was due to a company-wide “layoff.” Brooke said no one else in her department was fired during the “layoff.” The lawsuit sought unspecified damages for the alleged discrimination.
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As we first reported, lawyers from Good American and Emma denied all allegations of wrongdoing. They argued that the company’s actions were non-discriminatory and claimed it would have been an “excessive burden” to comply with the requests.
Good American said the decision was made “out of business necessity.”
Now, in an amended response to the lawsuit, Good American and Emma claim that Brooke accepted the “numerous, extensive accommodations provided to her and never stated that she was not being accommodated, and that she never requested additional accommodations beyond what was provided . ”
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Furthermore, the defendants argued that they had no “knowledge of the need for [Brooke] for any additional accommodations.”
Good American and Emma said“Like [Brooke] was injured, the injuries were caused by alternative sources and stressors such as [Brooke’s] cancer diagnosis that caused her emotional distress and inability to find comparable work.”
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They further said: ‘To the extent [Broke] has suffered any symptoms of mental or emotional distress or injury as a result of the alleged actions of Defendants alleged in the Complaint, including causes of action one through six; this was the result of pre-existing mental disorders or alternative concurrent causes, and not the result of any act or omission of Defendants. About information and belief, [Brooke] had pre-existing mental health issues due to cancer and other alternative causes that existed before she was terminated. Any alleged emotional distress was not due to Defendants’ alleged actions.”
The company and Khloe’s business partner denied firing Brooke because of her requests. “[Good American] offered numerous accommodations [Brooke], including all her requests because of her cancer. It is unclear which additional accommodations [Brooke] requests that should have been made available to her, but she failed to notify Defendants that additional accommodations were needed in addition to the numerous accommodations provided to Plaintiff,” the attorney added.
Good American asked the court to order Brooke to pay the legal bill.
