Wigdor LLP has filed a complaint alleging The Levy Group, Inc., a fashion apparel and licensing company with iconic brand partnerships including BCBG and Nautica, as well as retail partnerships with fashion juggernauts such as Bloomingdales and Macy’s, discriminated against our client, Theadora Drakas, after she became pregnant. The company terminated Ms. Drakas’s employment the day after she met with Human Resources to discuss her maternity leave and protested the discriminatory treatment she had suffered.
As alleged in the complaint (linked below), Ms. Drakas experienced a marked shift in how her supervisor, Louis Levy, and the company’s executives, Donald and Dawn Levy, treated her immediately after she disclosed her pregnancy. The complaint further alleges that after Ms. Drakas became pregnant, the company removed her desk, reduced her salary, and forced her work remotely under the pretense that she should “spend more time with family.” In fact, the company hired a male executive Vice President of Sales, who, by his own admission, and no experience in luxury fashion.
Within months of disclosing her pregnancy, Ms. Drakas met with Human Resources to discuss her upcoming maternity leave. During that conversation, Ms. Drakas complained about Louis and Dawn Levy’s discriminatory conduct. The company fired Ms. Drakas the next day.
Statement from attorney Kassandra Vazquez:
“No woman should have to choose between her family and her career. The unfortunate reality is that some employers still believe the tired trope that a woman who starts or expands her family is less dedicated to her job. We are determined to fight that outdated and discriminatory stereotype.”
The full Drakas v. The Levy Group, Inc. complaint may be found here.
For any questions, please reach out to attorney Kassandra Vazquez (kvazquez@wigdorlaw.com) or Director of Marketing Tess Neudeck (tneudeck@wigdorlaw.com).