A woman claims she was wrongly fired by the Coalition on Homelessness allegedly after she warned the organization's chief executive that she was violating the law by seeking to intentionally limit a job search to Black women candidates only.
Plaintiff Kelley Cutler filed a lawsuit on Feb. 9 in San Francisco County Superior Court against the Coalition on Homelessness Inc. and its CEO, Jennifer Friedenbach, alleging wrongful termination.
According to the complaint, Cutler was employed as a Human Rights Organizer at the Coalition from February 2016 until her alleged unlawful constructive termination on June 8, 2022.
Cutler claims she was fired after learning that Friedenbach intended to hire a new human rights organizer ,and intended to do so expressly to hire a Black woman for the job. Cutler allegedly warned Friedenbach that such alleged discrimination on the basis of race and sex would be illegal.
In addition to wrongful termination, Cutler's lawsuit also accused the Coalition of discrimination, harassment and violation of several labor laws, including alleged failure to pay minimum wages and overtime wages, alleged failure to provide itemized wage statements and rest periods, and alleged failure to reimburse necessary expenses.
Cutler is represented in the action by attorneys Robert W. Brockman, Sarah E. Risso, and Thomas M. Regan from the law firm Brockman Quayle Bennett, of San Diego.