Chicago-based attorney, Tamara Holder, of The Law Firm of Tamara N. Holder, LLC, and their co-counsel, filed suit in the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of 34 former "Twin Peaks Girls" who worked at Twin Peaks Restaurants Illinois and Texas locations. Additionally, the firms filed requests to arbitrate for an additional 19 women signed an arbitration agreement upon hiring at Twin Peaks franchise La Cima Restaurants. The women allege they were recruited into a "fun" job with "flexible scheduling" only to then learn, after hiring, that they would be body graded every day and constantly fat shamed by management and corporate. The young women also allege that when they were sexually harassed by customers and complained to management, they were ignored or retaliated against for complaining. Additional claims involve race discrimination against African American workers, and sexual orientation against a homosexual male busboy.
For more on this case, check out the story written by Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz for The Chicago Tribune, on August 7, 2020:
Twin Peaks hit with federal lawsuit alleging lingerie uniforms, body grading system led to ‘rampant sexual harassment’
Tamara Holder is a Chicago-based attorney who focuses her practice on institutional abuse. Ms. Holder's work includes seeking clemency (via pardon, commutation of sentence) from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker via the Prisoner Review Board, workplace discrimination (sexual harassment, race discrimination, disability discrimination), and sexual abuse by doctors (filed suit against NorthShore University HealthSystem for harboring a now-indicted gynecologist). A plaintiff's attorney, Ms. Holder also provides consulting to companies accused of workplace misconduct and helps the company determine the proper response.
For inquiries please contact us at: contact@tamaraholder.com or (312) 818-3850
April 7, 2020
Today, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker granted clemency for our client and commuted his sentence. He's going home!
Our client was just 14 years old when he was charged as an adult for a gun-sale-gone-bad involving his adult cousin and a man who was attempting to purchase an illegal firearm. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
13 years later, on April 7, 2020, Gov. Pritzker commuted our client's sentence, releasing him 12 years early from the Illinois Department of Corrections.
The Law Firm of Tamara N. Holder, LLC petitioned Gov. Pritzker for their client's early release just last year. Literally, in April of 2019, we presented our case to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. While in prison, our client became involved in rehabilitation organizations, he became an accomplished artist, and he took advantage of every educational opportunity available, albeit the opportunities were slim.
Helping this young get his freedom back is one of Tamara's proudest moments of her 15-year career as an equal rights and pardon attorney.
We wish our client the very best. While he was incarcerated, he became an incredible artist and motivational speaker. We know he's going to have a great life as a free man. We look forward to filing another petition for a complete pardon - total forgiveness - one day down the road.
Thank you to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and its staff, as well as to Gov. Pritzker, his legal team and staff.
