She flagged the defect for months - then got blamed for sabotaging it, the filing claims
A former Ford worker says the automaker fired her just weeks after she complained about a supervisor, took medical leave, and flagged a defect on the line.
The lawsuit, filed September 1, 2026 in federal court in Chicago, lays out a five-count case. The worker spent about five years at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant as a lead operator, according to the complaint. It says that only weeks before she was fired, the plant manager picked her for a plant audit, thanked her for her work, and gave her a recognition medal.
The complaint alleges that a supervisor had pursued a personal relationship with her in 2023, which she ended. When he returned to her work area in mid-2024, the filing says, he began ignoring her, speaking to her through coworkers while she stood nearby, and calling her “Ken.” When she raised his conduct with a second manager, the complaint alleges that manager responded with a sexually explicit remark rather than addressing her concern.
She filed an official complaint on August 23, 2024. Ford admits receiving it and acknowledges that she described the supervisor as “unprofessional,” said she was experiencing “retaliation,” and said he was “inappropriate with women,” according to the filing.
Separately, the complaint says, she had been reporting a vehicle-alignment defect through Ford's internal reporting system since late 2023. The filing alleges the supervisor grew hostile over the reports, later accused her of causing or sabotaging the same defect she had been raising for months, and said, in substance, that he intended to get her fired.
The medical thread drives the leave claims. The worker suffered a pregnancy loss and continuing complications, the complaint says, and Ford knew. Ford approved her for intermittent leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act - the law that lets eligible employees take protected time off for serious health conditions - and she used it on September 11, 2024. That was the same day Ford interviewed her in an internal investigation into a co-worker's complaint against her. Her leave approval was still active on September 26, 2024, when Ford fired her.
Ford's stated reason, according to the complaint, was narrow: offensive language during a workplace dispute, which Ford says broke its anti-harassment policy and justified firing her even for a first violation. Ford contends she acknowledged using profanity similar to the language attributed to her. She disputes Ford's account of the context and severity, and alleges the reason was a pretext - pointing to the timing, about 34 days after her complaint about the supervisor and about 15 days after she used approved leave.
Much of the case turns on comparison. The worker alleges Ford enforced its conduct rules selectively - disciplining her while tolerating what she describes as sexually inappropriate conduct by male managers. She says she is not aware of comparable discipline against the manager who allegedly made the sexual remark. Who else was investigated, and who was not, is the kind of question that decides retaliation cases, and much of that record sits in Ford's own personnel files.
The worker brings claims for sex discrimination and retaliation under Title VII, retaliation and interference under the FMLA, and retaliatory discharge under Illinois law. She filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on November 18, 2024, and received a right-to-sue notice on June 3, 2026. She is seeking back pay, reinstatement or front pay, and compensatory and punitive damages; the complaint does not name a dollar amount.
The allegations have not been tested, and no court has ruled.
