“While Plaintiff was employed by Defendants, she complained to her supervisors that she should be paid as an employee, rather than an independent contractor, because she was treated as an employee. (Id. ¶ 26.) Subsequently, Defendants offered to extend the contracts of every other coordinating producer besides Plaintiff who had worked on the fifth season of Shipping Wars, and ultimately rehired all but Plaintiff and one producer. (Id. ¶ 27.) . . . . The Magistrate Judge found that Plaintiff raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether the non-discriminatory rationale proffered by Defendants was pretextual, because she pointed to inconsistent deposition testimony regarding the reasons for their failure to rehire Plaintiff. Further, Plaintiff had alleged a causal link between her happiness and her fair compensation. This determination is not clearly erroneous, and a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether Plaintiff was not re-hired by Defendants in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 215(a)(3). Summary judgment should be DENIED as to this issue.” 2016 WL 1441809, at *1–2.
Schutte v. Megalomedia, Inc., No. 1:24-CV-890-DAE, 2016 WL 1441809 (W.D. Tex. Apr. 12, 2016) (Ezra, J.).