Oprah Winfrey has been in the news a lot this week. First, she injured her back while carrying her birthday present -- and more recently, she was slapped with a lawsuit.
Carolyn Hommel, a former OWN employee, claimed in a lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court that she was hired in 2010 as senior director of scheduling and acquisitions at the network, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Although she received a complementary performance review and people told her she had the potential to become a vice president, when she took medical leave during her pregnancy, a temporary employee replaced her. She told The Hollywood Reporter that her duties were gradually stripped and given to the temporary employee -- and the network allegedly excluded her from many meetings upon her return to the office.
Hommel alleges in the complaint, according to The Hollywood Reporter, that a month after giving birth to her daughter, she was told the company was laying her off. Although staff encouraged her to re-apply for the vice president job, she was passed over. She also alleges that her boss, Michael Garner (who is also a defendant in the suit) fabricated a performance review that made her look like a less "senior" company employee, hurting her chances of becoming vice president, as stated in The Hollywood Reporter.
According to Hommel, as reported in The Hollywood Reporter, her demotion and layoff are a direct result of her pregnancy and medical charges. She hasn't stated the amount of damages she seeks from this lawsuit.
An OWN representative did not immediately respond to The Hollywood Reporter's request for comment.
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