Fernandez v. Huddleson Linens, Inc.

**Small Employer Wins Discrimination Case Due to Size Exemption** Fernandez sued Huddleson Linens, claiming the company discriminated against him, retaliated against him, failed to provide workplace accommodations, and created a hostile work environment that forced him to quit. He filed his lawsuit under Louisiana's employment discrimination law. The court dismissed Fernandez's case without considering whether discrimination actually occurred. Instead, the judge ruled that Louisiana's anti-discrimination law only applies to employers with 20 or more employees for at least 20 weeks during the year. Since Huddleson Linens was too small to meet this requirement, the law didn't cover Fernandez's situation at all. This ruling highlights an important limitation for workers: employment discrimination laws often don't protect employees at very small companies. Many state and federal anti-discrimination laws have minimum employee thresholds, meaning workers at smaller businesses may have fewer legal protections. If you work for a small employer, you might not be covered by the same discrimination laws that protect workers at larger companies. Before filing a discrimination claim, workers should check whether their employer is large enough to be covered by the relevant laws, as company size can determine what legal protections are available.