Denver, CO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/09/2018 --A former employee of telecommunications giant Charter Communications, Inc., has sued Charter claiming wrongful termination in violation of Colorado's "lifestyle" statute.
On April 24, 2018 local news affiliates in Castle Rock broke a story with the headline "wild sex parties disturb upscale Castle Rock community." Police were called to the scene to investigate the parties—referred to as "lifestyle parties" by participants—and determined that the lifestyle parties were perfectly legal. The activities of the lifestyle party participants were not visible from outside of the home, and soundproofing insulation had been installed in the home to prevent noise from disturbing neighbors. The host of the lifestyle parties—plaintiff Michael Scarpitti—was a Senior Director of Network Engineering with Charter at the time.
The complaint filed in Arapahoe County District Court (Case No. 2018CV31789) by the Feder Law Firm alleges that shortly after the local news story broke, Charter suspended Scarpitti without pay pending an investigation into the lifestyle parties. According to the complaint, Scarpitti learned weeks later that Charter had terminated him without notice or explanation.
The complaint states that Colorado's "lifestyle" statute makes it unlawful for an employer to fire an employee for engaging in lawful activities outside of the workplace, so long as those activities do not affect the employee's job performance. The statute provides: "It shall be a discriminatory or unfair practice for an employer to terminate the employment of any employee due to that employee's engaging in any lawful activity off the premises of the employer during nonworking hours." The complaint alleges that Charter unlawfully fired Scarpitti for hosting the lifestyle parties despite the parties being perfectly legal, and seeks monetary damages for Scarpitti.
On August 22, 2018, one day after Charter's response to the complaint was due, Charter filed to remove the suit to federal court in the District of Colorado. The suit is currently pending in federal court at case number 1:18-cv-02133-REB-MEH.
Charter operates offices in Arapahoe County, Colorado, and has over 92,000 employees globally.
For more information about this case, contact The Feder Law Firm by phone at 303-221-5599 or visit www.federlawfirm.com.
Charter Communications, Inc., Sued by Former Employee After News Reports of "Lifestyle" Parties Hosted at Former Employee's Private Residence Surface
A former employee of the telecommunications giant claims wrongful termination in violation of Colorado’s “lifestyle” statute.