Old Navy is one of the many corporations that have been sued over their employment policies. After former boss Jeff Oldham was fired from the company in 2021, he filed two personal lawsuits against the corporation. These lawsuits were later dropped when Old Navy signed a consent agreement. Old Navy settled the two lawsuits in lieu of paying Mr. Oldham a total of just over $50,000. Old Navy did not admit any wrongdoing at any time.

Old Navy lawsuit

Soon after filing suit, Old Navy discovered that its president, Georgearfenich was the actual person who signed the contract granting Mr. Oldham employment. At this point in time, Mr. Oldham did not know that he had actually been wrongfully terminated. In 2021, he and other employees had a meeting with Old Navy’s legal counsel, where he learned that Old Navy would be filing suit. When Old Navy did this, it put itself in a position of not being able to do business any longer in Florida.

On the heels of filing suit, Old Navy informed Mr. Oldham that it did not intend to give notice of breach.

This meant that if Mr. Oldham ever complained about being unfairly terminated, he would need to file a claim with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission. Old Navy further advised Mr. Oldham that if he ever decided to sue, Old Navy would not be liable because it had given notice of the potential breach in the first place. In other words, Old Navy was in a situation whereby it could avoid having to give notice of breach. The crux of the matter is that Mr. Oldham never had a right to know that he was being discriminated against on the basis of his disability.

The original demand of Mr. Oldham is also being challenged by the corporation.

At the time that Mr. Oldham initially demanded relief, the Old Navy Board of Directors was being quoted as saying that the company did not have a right to discriminate against anyone. Further on, Mr. O’Neil was told that Old Navy had requested that the Department of Labor to take action against him personally, without warning him that they intended to file a lawsuit against him. Mr. O’Neil is claiming discrimination on the basis of his handicap.

It is needless to say that Mr. O’Neil is very upset at Old Navy’s apparent dishonesty and breach of fiduciary duty.

According to him, the deception that occurred caused him to lose his job and force him into taking this action in federal district court. Mr. O’Neil is seeking a jury trial, which could cost him in excess of 75 million dollars. This is due to the large amount of loss of wages, medical bills, and the expenses tied in to the failed business venture. He has also been required to repay interest and penalties.

On the other side of the coin, Old Navy is challenging the legality of the original demand made by Mr. O’Neil.

They claim that Mr. O’ Neil was a well-aware that discriminating against him would lead to a large loss of revenue for the corporation. Further on, they claim that Mr. O’ Neil never filed any complaints with the discriminated against prior to the lawsuit. Additionally, they are currently reviewing their legal position after the company was served with the complaint in federal district court in June.

The crux of the matter revolves around the question of whether or not Mr. O’ Neil actually suffered a loss as a result of the corporation’s wrongful termination policy. Federal court decided that Mr. O’ Neil suffered a financial loss due to the loss of royalty income he received from his work with the Old Navy company. Although he lost royalties, he was still entitled to receive them because of his employment with the organization.

In an internal review, the human resources department determined that Mr. O’Neil was not in a position to receive any money from the original suit. Therefore, he was not entitled to any monetary damages from the original suit. However, upon further inspection of the facts contained within the internal review report it was determined that Mr. O’Neil was actually a victim of wrongful termination due to his refusal to take a mandatory promotion to a higher position. Because of this, he was able to recover lost royalties under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.