Things aren’t going so well for Steve Bannon, the Breitbart executive currently on leave from his position at the conservative media organization while serving as Donald Trump’s campaign CEO. Over the weekend, campaign manager Kellyanne Conway downplayed Bannon’s involvement following a pro-Hillary Clinton ad’s explicit use of KKK imagery in connection to Bannon. What’s more, resurfaced allegations of domestic violence and voter fraud have rendered the inexperienced political campaigner’s public image difficult to defend.
However, and according to a new report by the New York Post, Bannon’s troubles are far from over. The paper uncovered court documents pertaining to a 2005 lawsuit filed against American Vantage Companies — where Bannon once served as CEO — by then-employee Julia Panely-Pacetti. Why? Because Bannon allegedly fired her while she was on maternity leave:
“Julia Panely-Pacetti, a new mother who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was terminated by defendants from her position as head of public relations and corporate marketing because of her sex and her disability,” states the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court in September 2005.
Yes, not only was Panely-Pacetti a new mother supposedly “on a protected Family and Medical Leave Act maternity leave,” but she was also suffering from multiple sclerosis. Plus, her employers “forced to continue performing her job responsibilities from home throughout her maternity leave.”
Whether or not her maternity leave and disability factored in her firing remains a mystery, as the resulting case settlement in September 2006 was never made public.
(Via New York Post)