Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ared-3_20-cv-00037/USCOURTS-ared-3_20-cv-00037-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Barbara Jones
Plaintiff
Poinsett County Housing Authority
Defendant

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS 

NORTHERN DIVISION 

BARBARA JONES PLAINTIFF 

v. No. 3:20-cv-37-DPM 

POINSETT COUNTY 

HOUSING AUTHORITY 

ORDER 

DEFENDANT 

1. Jones's motion to proceed in forma pauperis, NQ 1, is granted. 

She can't afford the filing fee. 

2. The Court must screen her complaint. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). 

Jones worked for the Housing Authority for about eight months. She 

did maintenance at its low-income housing units. She says the 

Housing Authority never disciplined her in writing or said she wasn't 

doing her job well, and the executive director called her a good worker. 

She and her coworkers had to wear Housing Authority t-shirts; 

otherwise, Jones says, employees could wear whatever they wanted. 

She wore baseball caps, boots, and hairstyles that she says her 

supervisors associated with men's fashion. Her supervisors and the 

executive director - all men - told her they didn't like the way she 

dressed, and they directed her to wear clothes appropriate for women. 

She says that because of her appearance, her work duties were 

restricted to cleaning; she was asked not to work one day; and her 

Case 3:20-cv-00037-DPM Document 5 Filed 02/19/20 Page 1 of 2
supervisor threatened to fire her if she didn't dress more like a woman. 

When she refused, her supervisor handed her a termination letter, 

which said she wasn't a good fit for the maintenance team. Jones has 

therefore plausibly pleaded sex discrimination and a hostile work 

environment in violation of federal law. Lewis v. Heartland Inns of 

America, L.L.C., 591 F.3d 1033, 1038-39 (8th Cir. 2010). And the Court 

has supplemental jurisdiction over her state claim, which directly 

relates to her federal claims. 28 U.S.C. § 1367(a). 

3. Jones's lawyers must prepare a summons, which the Clerk 

will issue, for Poinsett County Housing Authority. Counsel must 

deliver process to the U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Arkansas. 

The Court directs the Marshal to serve the summons and complaint 

without prepayment of fees. 

So Ordered. 

-2-

~ ~A/1,1--. .., D .P. Marshall Jr . 

United States District Judge 

11 7e6tv~y ).O;lO 

I 

Case 3:20-cv-00037-DPM Document 5 Filed 02/19/20 Page 2 of 2