Whitney Chase has filed a lawsuit against the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit, Leon County, Florida. The case number is 24-CA-2024 CA 000461 and was filed on March 19, 2024. The lawsuit alleges gender discrimination and retaliation under the Florida Civil Rights Act.
Chase, a resident of Florida, claims she was treated differently due to her gender and faced retaliation after reporting unlawful employment practices within the organization. She began her employment with the defendant in August 1998 as an investigator. Despite her stellar work performance, she alleges disparate treatment, different terms and conditions of employment, and being held to a different standard because of her gender.
The plaintiff further alleges that specific individuals including Captain John Wilke, Major Jay Russel, Acting Captain Ben Eason, and Captain Herbert Frerking were responsible for this discriminatory treatment. She claims to have been targeted with negative evaluations, unwarranted letters of oral counseling, repeated threats of demotions among other forms of mistreatment which her male counterparts did not face.
Chase is seeking judgment for damages individually exceeding Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000), exclusive of costs and interest. The lawsuit seeks to address these alleged violations under Chapter 760 of the Florida Statutes and 42 U.S.C. §2000e et seq.