A woman is accusing a car dealership of religious discrimination and sexual harassment.
Ceresia Blanchard filed her lawsuit in federal court against Robert L. Lipton Inc., also known as Lipton Toyota.
In the complaint, Blanchard alleges she was scheduled to work Sundays despite informing her employer about her religious obligations and need to have Sundays off for church attendance. When she raised this issue with General Manager Weam Aly, Blanchard says she was told that she would need to work two Sundays per month if she wished to remain employed.
Additionally, Blanchard claims a sales manager named Dmitry Sicard made a sexist comment in front of her and male colleagues that "women don't know anything about cars." Blanchard says she lodged a formal complaint about this comment with the company's human resources department but received no response.
Blanchard is seeking redress under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. She seeks compensatory damages and other relief.