Velasquez Employment Rights Lawsuit Against Wal‑Mart Removed to Eastern District
A Tulare County wrongful‑termination suit by former area manager Alionzo Velasquez alleging retaliation after paternity leave was removed to federal court and assigned to Judge Jennifer L. Thurston.
| A wrongful‑termination and employment discrimination action filed in Tulare County by Alionzo Velasquez was removed to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California and reassigned to District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston and Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto. The state complaint, filed Jan. 23, 2026 in Tulare County Superior Court as case number PCU330480, was brought in state court by Kent | Pincin on behalf of a plaintiff described in the state filing as a former area manager. |
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| The Law report summary of the state filing described the core allegation in these words: “Walmart was hit with an employment discrimination lawsuit on Jan. 23 in California Superior Court for Tulare County. The action, brought by Kent | Pincin on behalf of a former area manager, alleges the defendant retaliated against the employee by changing his work schedule, increasing his workload and ultimately terminating his employment after he took paternity leave.” The state complaint, as summarized, lists claims under wrongful termination, disability and medical condition discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act claim, pregnancy discrimination, and sex and gender discrimination. |
The federal docket was opened and docketed March 3, 2026 as Velasquez v. Wal‑mart Associates, Inc., 1:26‑cv‑01746. Pacermonitor records the initial filing as docket entry 1: “NOTICE of REMOVAL from Tulare County Superior Court, case number PCU330480 by Alionzo Velasquez,” with a filing fee of $405 and receipt number ACAEDC‑12984876, and attachments described as a Declaration of Juan C. Araneda and a Civil Cover Sheet. Pacermonitor also shows a corporate disclosure statement filed by Wal‑Mart Associates, Inc., as docket entry 2.
Clerk’s paperwork shows the case was reassigned on March 5, 2026 to Judge Jennifer L. Thurston and Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto with the styled case number updated to 1:26‑cv‑01746‑JLT‑SKO, and a Standing Order signed by Judge Thurston appears on the docket as signed March 6, 2026. Pacermonitor lists a Certificate / Proof of Service by Wal‑Mart Associates, Inc. regarding the Standing Order filed March 6 at 5:40 PM.
The federal docket extract lists defense counsel as Juan Araneda, Joseph M. Crittenden, and Jason A. Geller of Fisher & Phillips. The Pacermonitor snapshot does not list plaintiff counsel on the federal docket even though the state complaint identifies Kent | Pincin as plaintiff counsel in the Tulare County filing.
The available docket excerpts raise procedural questions: Pacermonitor’s Notice of Removal entry is labeled “by Alionzo Velasquez,” an atypical designation because removals are commonly filed by defendants. Pacermonitor also lists the federal cause code as 28:1332 Diversity-(Citizenship) and the nature of suit as 442 Civil Rights - Employment. The notice and its attachments, including the Declaration of Juan C. Araneda and the civil cover sheet, will need to be examined to confirm who filed the removal and the jurisdictional basis claimed.
As of the Pacermonitor update through March 6, 2026, the docket shows removal, a corporate disclosure, reassignment to Judge Thurston and Magistrate Judge Oberto, the standing order, and the proof of service. Those entries frame an early federal posture for Velasquez v. Wal‑mart Associates, Inc., while key documents and signature blocks remain to be pulled to confirm the exact claims now before the Eastern District and the party who effectuated removal.
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