LaChon alleges in court filings that when she was promoted to her executive role, she was placed under an unusual reporting structure that required her to answer to a white male peer with no U.S. human resources experience. She was, according to the suit, the only Black executive leader in her division subjected to this arrangement rather than being allowed to operate autonomously.

She raised the issue repeatedly with senior leadership, the filing states. Nothing changed.

What LaChon observed during her tenure, she claims, extended beyond her own experience. Through her daily work, she came to know other Black and Indigenous employees in leadership positions who faced similar patterns: diminished authority, delayed advancement, atypical reporting structures, heightened scrutiny, and reduced institutional support compared to their non-BIPOC counterparts.

In March 2025, LaChon went on approved medical leave following what she describes as an escalation of workplace conditions, including her involvement in investigating a racially charged incident affecting store-level and executive leadership. Four months later, while still on leave, she filed a discrimination charge with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Three days after her former counsel notified the company, LaChon received her first communication from her employer since her leave began. It was not a wellness check. According to the lawsuit, it was a letter threatening to process her resignation unless she responded within three days to questions about potential outside business activity.