Plaintiff accuses former employer Alvis Inc. of workplace discrimination

A former operations manager has filed a lawsuit alleging workplace discrimination and retaliation. Mandi Cobb initiated the complaint against Alvis Inc., David Qualls, and Maggie Malone in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio on February 3, 2026. The complaint accuses Alvis Inc. of violating federal and state laws regarding gender and sexual orientation discrimination.

The case centers around events that began when Cobb started working at Alvis Inc. on January 26, 2023. She claims that during her tenure, she witnessed discriminatory practices by Maggie Malone, an assistant director at Alvis. On March 14, 2025, Cobb observed Malone inconsistently enforcing a urine drop policy, allowing a White client to submit another sample after an invalid attempt while denying the same opportunity to a Black client who tested positive for THC. When Cobb questioned Malone about this incident, she alleges that Malone became defensive and falsely accused her of insubordination as retaliation for raising concerns about racial discrimination.

Cobb’s legal action further details her termination from Alvis on March 17, 2025. During a meeting with David Qualls, the Human Resources Supervisor at Alvis, Qualls allegedly made derogatory comments related to Cobb’s gender identity and sexual orientation. He reportedly played videos of Cobb’s stand-up comedy routine to embarrass her and justify her removal under false pretenses. Despite having no prior disciplinary issues at work, Cobb was terminated following these incidents.

In her lawsuit, Cobb argues that she faced adverse employment actions due to her opposition to discriminatory practices based on race and gender identity. She claims violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and R.C. § 4112.02 regarding gender and sexual orientation discrimination. Additionally, she asserts retaliation claims under both federal law (42 U.S.C § 1981) and state law (R.C. § 4112.02(1)) for opposing racial discrimination.

Cobb seeks various forms of relief from the court including compensatory damages exceeding $25,000 per claim for emotional distress and other consequential damages caused by the defendants’ conduct. She also requests punitive damages against each defendant in excess of $25,000 along with reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs associated with bringing forth this action.

Representing Mandi Cobb are attorneys Trisha Breedlove and Paul Filippelli from Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm located in Columbus Ohio; they have demanded a jury trial in this matter which bears Case ID: 2:26-cv-00125-EAS-CMV before Judge [Name].