Nordstrom IT Tech Employee Claims Wrongful Termination Due to Unfair Job Evaluations

A former Nordstrom tech employee is suing the retail chain, alleging she was discriminated against by a misogynistic manager and wrongfully fired in 2023 in retaliation for taking time off to treat a back injury.

The charges against Jacqueline Stephens in Los Angeles Superior Court include wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

A representative for Nordstrom did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit filed Friday.

Stephens, 49, was hired as a computer technician in January 2019. Three years later, Nordstrom approved an intermittent leave so she could deal with a back injury that affected her ability to bend and perform manual tasks, the suit alleges. She was allowed to take a full medical leave in March 2022 for surgery, and her doctors approved her return to work the following month, the suit alleges.

Stephens told her manager in an email that the plaintiff’s doctor wanted her to have a desk that would allow her to sit and stand at different times, but it took more than a month for the desk to be acquired, the lawsuit alleges.

Shortly after Stephens returned from leave, the manager gave her a quarterly performance review that criticized her absences, which the plaintiff believes was retaliation for taking medical leave, the complaint says. Stephens complained to human resources about the manager’s negative review, the complaint says.

As the only full-time, permanent woman on her team, Stephens often heard the manager make insulting remarks about women who were unintelligent and overly emotional, the lawsuit says.

“This sent a message to Stephens that (the manager) viewed women as second-class citizens in the workplace,” according to the complaint, which further alleges that her male colleagues were treated more favorably by the manager, who she says rarely recognized her for her hard work.

In March 2023, the manager gave Stephens another poor performance review for taking more time off to deal with her back injury and told her she needed to make sure her medical appointments did not interfere too much with her work schedule “or her job would be in jeopardy,” the lawsuit says.