A woman is suing a media company, alleging she was wrongfully fired in 2022 and denied accommodations after a lift in an automated parking lot suddenly raised and tore off one of her vehicle’s doors.
Alana Gordhamer’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit against Burbank-based Roundabout Entertainment Inc. alleges wrongful termination, whistleblower retaliation, disability discrimination and failure to accommodate and engage in the interactive process.
“This case presents the compelling story of a loyal and hard-working employee who was abruptly fired by her employer after suffering from an injury during the course and scope of her employment, and seeking reasonable accommodations,” the suit states.
Gordhamer seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages in the suit brought Thursday. A Roundabout representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Gordhamer was hired in February 2022 as a trailer producer and was hurt when she was in a Parkmatic parking lot in April of that year. Parkmatic designs, manufactures, installs and services automated and mechanical parking systems. Parkmatic is not a defendant in Gordhamer’s suit.
Gordhamer had parked her vehicle and was gathering her belongings when her vehicle suddenly moved upward and her open car door was torn off then it was caught in the device, the suit states. She remained in her vehicle 20 feet in the air and waited 30 minutes before building management sent a mechanic to help the plaintiff down a ladder, according to the suit, which further states that she suffered severe emotional distress.
Roundabout’s owner and a company manager ushered the Gordhamer into the building and later the owner offered the plaintiff time off to heal and said the company would pay for her car damage, the suit states. However, as Gordhamer’s shock lessened, she said she wanted to go to work because she had much to do, the suit states.
However, Gordhamer complained about what she believed was an unsafe work environment and said that the machine “could have killed her,” according to the suit.
A video of what happened showed that a man from a different department did not see Gordhamer in her car and pushed the lift button so he could retrieve his own vehicle, the suit further states.
Gordhamer was told to take the rest of the day off. The next day, Gordhamer’s co-workers asked about what happened to her in the parking lot and she saw an advisory email to all employees urging them to, for their safety, use care in the parking lot and to be sure they leave their cars quickly so as to avoid any damage to them, according to the suit.
Gordhamer believed the email made it seem like what happened to her was her fault. Still suffering from emotional distress, she was given a two-week leave, the suit further states.
While off work, Gordhamer began seeing a therapist and filed a workers’ compensation claim.
When Gordhamer returned to work in May 2022, management told her not to talk with other employees about her accident in the parking lot, to which the plaintiff responded that she still had anxiety and that others were still asking her about what happened, the suit states. When Gordhamer requested accommodations, she allegedly was told that “the best course of action would be to terminate her employment.”
Gordhamer has experienced financial losses and still suffers emotional pain from losing her job, the suit alleges.