A Chicago attorney has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court saying he was harassed on the job and ultimately fired for not being Greek.
Shia Kapos of ChicagoBusiness.com reported that Martin Hall accused James Regas and Chicago-based Regas Frezados & Dallas LLP that discriminated against him based on his national origin. He’s seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
“He thought he did well, but because of his national origin he was treated less favorably. And that’s upsetting because this is his career and his livelihood,” said Mr. Hall’s attorney, Erika Pedersen.
Mr. Regas said that this is not the case. “My only comment is that he was not a good employee and this is the only reason that he was fired” said in a phone call.
Mr. Hall, who says his boss, Mr. Regas, demonstrated “an obvious preference for Greek employees” and treated non-Greek employees, including Mr. Hall, “less favorably” than Greeks.
The lawsuit alleges numerous examples of favoritism and discriminatory pay practices. It also says Mr. Regas “made racist comments to and about individuals who were not Greek,” including African-Americans and Hispanics.
The lawsuit says Mr. Regas was “furious” when he found out his daughter was dating a non-Greek man and “ordered her to stop seeing him.” The suit says Mr. Regas also insisted that his son marry a Greek woman and threatened that “if he married a non-Greek woman instead, he would be eliminated as a beneficiary under Regas’ will.”
(With information from Shia Kapos’ blog)
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