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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

FORT LAUDERDALE DIVISION

BENDRA CASENEUVE,

 Plaintiff,

vs. Case No.:

CITY OF DANIA BEACH,

Defendant.

_____________________________/

COMPLAINT

COMES NOW the Plaintiff, BENDRA CASENEUVE, and sues Defendant and 

states as follows:

JURISDICTION

Jurisdiction in this Court is proper under 29 U.S.C. §1331 as this action 

arises under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §2000e and the 

Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §12131.

VENUE

Venue is proper in this Court as Defendant is a City located in Broward 

County within the Southern District.

CONDITIONS PRECEDENT

All conditions precedent to the filing of this suit have been met. Plaintiff

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filed a Charge of Discrimination alleging discrimination based on race, national 

origin, disability and retaliation with the Equal Employment Opportunity 

Commission (“EEOC”) and filed a second Charge of Discrimination alleging 

retaliation with the EEOC, both within 300 days of the discriminatory/retaliatory 

events. See Composite Exhibit A. Plaintiff received a Determination and Notice of 

Rights on each of the Charges dated August 18, 2022. See Composite Exhibit B. 

Plaintiff is filing the instant lawsuit within 90 days of receipt of her Notice of 

Rights. 

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

1. Plaintiff’s race is African American.

2. Plaintiff’s national origin is Haitian.

3. Plaintiff began working for Defendant on September 17, 2018, in the 

Human Resources Department in the position of Benefits & Risk 

Management Specialist.

4. In March 2020, Linda Gonzalez was hired by Defendant as the Director of 

Human Resources, making her Plaintiff’s supervisor.

5. Ms. Gonzalez sent emails making false allegations that Plaintiff was failing 

to do certain job duties.

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6. Plaintiff responded, advising that the things Ms. Gonzalez was complaining 

about not being done, had, in fact, been done.

7. Ms. Gonzalez continued to target Plaintiff who reported this to the Deputy 

City Manager.

8. Initially, Plaintiff did not complain that the conduct of Ms. Gonzalez was 

based on her race and/or national origin.

9. On June 23, 2020, an anonymous letter was sent to the City Commission of 

the City of Dania Beach alleging that Ms. Gonzalez was terminated from her 

previous employment due to discrimination against Haitian employees.

10.Ms. Gonzalez made it known that she believed that the anonymous letter 

had been sent by Plaintiff, which it had not. 

11.Ms. Gonzalez changed Plaintiff’s job duties and title and promoted an 

individual who was not African American and not Haitian to the same level 

as Plaintiff even though that individual did not have the requisite 

qualifications.

12.In approximately July 2021, shortly after a team building session was held, 

two employees resigned from Defendant’s employ, and both sent letters to 

the City Manager, the legal department, and the City commission, alleging a 

hostile work environment and retaliation created by Ms. Gonzalez.

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13.After these employees left, Plaintiff became aware that Ms. Gonzalez had 

asked each of them to work with her to get Plaintiff fired.

14.Ms. Gonzalez created a hostile work environment by publicly humiliating 

Plaintiff and constantly making false allegations against Plaintiff. 

15.This work environment caused Plaintiff to suffer from depression and 

anxiety.

16.In September 2021, Plaintiff and her minor child tested positive for COVID.

17.For the next two weeks, even though she had COVID, since it was open 

enrollment for benefits, Plaintiff continued to work, but did so remotely.

18.On September 28, 2021, Plaintiff emailed Ms. Gonzalez to advise that, in 

addition to suffering from COVID symptoms, she was overwhelmed with 

the work duties that had been added to her responsibilities while she was 

working remotely from home. 

19.On September 29, 2021, Plaintiff’s COVID symptoms got so severe that she 

had to go to the hospital for treatment. 

20.At 8:58 a.m. on September 29, 2021, Plaintiff’s husband texted Ms. 

Gonzalez to let her know the situation and that he would be taking Plaintiff 

to the Emergency Room.

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21.At that time, Plaintiff requested to take a week off to rest and recover from 

COVID as well as the anxiety and depression that had been building due to 

the work environment.

22.Plaintiff was initially due to return to work on October 25, 2021; however, 

Plaintiff’s doctor recommended a one month leave under the Family 

Medical Leave Act to start medication for depression and seek a 

psychotherapist to deal with the overwhelming stress that Ms. Gonzalez 

was causing.

23.Prior to returning from FMLA leave, Plaintiff submitted a document to the 

City Manager, the City Attorney’s Office, and the City Clerks office 

documenting numerous concerns she had about being targeted by Ms. 

Gonzalez and requesting that the hostile working conditions stop.

24.When she returned to work on November 22, 2021, Plaintiff found that Ms. 

Gonzalez had moved all of her personal belongings and deactivated several 

platforms which were required for Plaintiff to do her daily duties.

25.Plaintiff emailed Ms. Gonzalez requesting that her access be reinstated so 

she could continue to perform the duties of her job. 

26. Additionally, Ms. Gonzalez indicated to the City’s insurance broker that she 

did not expect Plaintiff to return. 

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27.Shortly before the close of business on November 22, 2020, Bendra 

received a Memo dated October 25, 2020, indicating that a meeting was 

scheduled to address nine specific “incidents,” one of which contained 18 

subsections.

28.The meeting was canceled, but Plaintiff was given two business days to 

submit a written response. 

29.The Memo contained many of the same false allegations that had already 

been responded to by Plaintiff. 

30.Regardless, Plaintiff submitted a detailed document, responding to each of 

the allegations.

31.After submitting the response, no one contacted Plaintiff to discuss the 

Memo and/or response with her and she did not receive anything in 

writing.

32.Plaintiff filed a Charge of Discrimination against Defendant with the Equal 

Employment Opportunity Commission on January 5, 2022.

33.Plaintiff was terminated by Defendant on January 13, 2022. 

34.Subsequent to her termination, Defendant responded to public records 

requests in such a manner as to prevent Plaintiff from getting a job with 

Broward County by sending her termination letter and advising that they 

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could not provide additional information because Plaintiff had an EEOC 

charge pending.

35.Likewise, Plaintiff received a preliminary job offer from the City of Boca 

Raton which was rescinded when Defendant admitted that it “did 

mistakenly provide the EEOC documents” in response to a request for 

information concerning Plaintiff’s employment. 

COUNT 1 DISPARATE TREATMENT BASED ON RACE AND/OR NATIONAL ORIGIN

Plaintiff incorporates all prior paragraphs as if fully stated herein.

36.As an African American, Plaintiff belongs to a protected class.

37.Plaintiff’s national origin as Haitian also put her in a protected class.

38.Plaintiff was qualified to perform the duties of her job as evidenced by the 

fact that she worked for Defendant for a year and a half without issue prior 

to Ms. Gonzalez being hired.

39. Ms. Gonzalez treated Plaintiff less favorably than those outside her 

protected by promoting an individual who was not African American and 

was not Haitian to the same level as Plaintiff even though that individual 

did not have the requisite qualifications.

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40.Plaintiff was also denied pay out of her accrued sick and vacation leave of 

over 300 hours when a terminated employee who was not African 

American and not Haitian was paid out for his accrued sick and vacation 

leave. 

WHEREFORE, Plaintiff demands judgment for lost wages/back pay, benefits, 

front pay, emotional distress damages, and all other compensatory damages 

allowable under law, attorney’s fees and costs and any other relief that the 

Court deems just and proper. 

COUNT 2 DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION

Plaintiff incorporates all prior paragraphs as if fully stated herein.

41.Plaintiff suffered from a temporary disability and/or was treated as having 

a disability when she had COVID.

42.Regardless of having COVID, Defendant required Plaintiff to continue to 

work from home until her symptoms became so severe that she had to go 

to the Emergency Room to get treatment.

43.Even after advising Ms. Gonzalez that her COVID symptoms were severe

and she was going to the ER, Plaintiff received emails and text messages 

from Ms. Gonzalez pressuring her to work while she was on leave. 

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44.Plaintiff also suffered from depression and anxiety that was caused by the 

hostile work environment.

45.Plaintiff’s depression and anxiety interfered with her ability to work as she 

was unable to return to work while she was being put on medication and 

seeking psychotherapy. 

46.While Plaintiff was permitted to take leave under the Family Medical Leave 

Act, she was not given any other accommodations to permit her to perform 

the duties of her job upon her return.

47.In fact, Plaintiff was terminated shortly after her return. 

WHEREFORE. Plaintiff demands judgment for lost wages/back pay, benefits, 

front pay, emotional distress damages, and all other compensatory damages 

allowable under law, attorney’s fees and costs and any other relief that the 

Court deems just and proper. 

COUNT 3 RETALIATION

Plaintiff incorporates all prior paragraphs as if fully stated herein.

48.Even before filing a Charge of Discrimination, Plaintiff engaged in protected 

activity by reporting in writing that she was being targeted by her 

supervisor and requesting that it stop. On the document submitted, 

Plaintiff noted the EEOC Charge information. 

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49.Plaintiff also engaged in protected activity when she filed a Charge of 

Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

50.Eight days after filing the Charge of Discrimination, Defendant terminated 

Plaintiff’s employment.

51.The stated reasons for Plaintiff’s termination were pretextual. 

52.Plaintiff was terminated in retaliation for filing her Charge of 

Discrimination. 

WHEREFORE. Plaintiff demands judgment for lost wages/back pay, benefits, 

front pay, emotional distress damages, and all other compensatory damages 

allowable under law, attorney’s fees and costs and any other relief that the 

Court deems just and proper. 

JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff hereby demands a trial by jury on all issues.

Dated: November 15, 2022, Respectfully submitted,

/s/Beth Coke

Beth Coke

Fla. Bar. #70726

Beth@cokeemploymentlaw.com

Coke Employment Law

131 N. 2nd Street, Suite 204

Fort Pierce, Fl. 34950

Telephone: (772) 252-4230

Facsimile: (772) 252-4575

Attorney for Plaintiff

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