Allegations of workplace discrimination and retaliation have been raised in a new federal lawsuit that claims an employee was denied reasonable accommodations for her pregnancy and ultimately lost her job as a result. The suit was filed by Ta Keona Bester in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on April 17, 2026, naming Wheels LLC as the defendant.
According to the complaint, Bester worked as a temporary employee assigned by Connect Search LLC to Wheels LLC—a vehicle leasing and fleet management company—at its Alpharetta facility from September 3, 2024 through February 25, 2025. The filing states that Bester performed duties as a Violation Specialist in the Tolls & Violations Department under the supervision of department manager Hafiz Ojulari.
The complaint reports that in late November 2024, Wheels LLC expressed interest in hiring Bester as a permanent employee. However, events at work soon took another turn. At a holiday party in December 2024 attended by team members including manager Ojulari, Bester announced she was pregnant and due in June 2025. The filing alleges that after this announcement, Ojulari began making negative comments about women and treating male employees more favorably than female ones.
Specific statements attributed to Ojulari include: “Men are more valuable than women because women are too emotional to handle life,” “Women should just be traditional,” and “Women should be bowing down to men.” The complaint further alleges that between January and February 2025, Ojulari overloaded Bester with tasks usually handled by multiple workers while not doing so with male subordinates. It is also claimed he used a harsh tone with female employees but not with males.
Bester states that when she requested help from coworkers as an accommodation for her pregnancy-related needs—including dizziness caused by medication—Ojulari denied these requests or failed to engage in any interactive process regarding accommodations. When Bester complained about this treatment to human resources generalist Charlene Dukes in early February 2025, she alleges that mistreatment continued rather than improved.
The complaint details further incidents where Ojulari allegedly made offensive remarks regarding Bester’s need for medical appointments due to her pregnancy. Examples cited include telling her: “You’re a temp, if you go to the doctor, don’t come in,” asking if she would miss more time due to pregnancy, and complaining that her condition was unfair to other team members.
In late February 2025, after being told she would be interviewed for a permanent position at Wheels LLC, Bester received notice from Talent Acquisition Recruiter Kim Zachery that her contract had ended earlier that week and her interview was canceled. Prior to this notification on February 26, neither Wheels LLC nor Connect Search LLC had informed Bester of any termination or issues with her assignment.
Throughout her tenure at Wheels LLC according to the complaint, Bester did not receive written warnings or discipline related to job performance or conduct from either company. She asserts that discriminatory actions resulted in lost income as well as physical sickness and emotional distress.
The lawsuit brings nine counts against Wheels LLC under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.) and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (42 U.S.C. § 2000gg et seq.). These include allegations of sex discrimination; creation of a sexually hostile work environment; national origin discrimination; national origin-based hostile work environment; unlawful retaliation; retaliatory hostile work environment; discrimination related to pregnancy accommodations; retaliation related to pregnancy accommodations; and interference related to pregnancy accommodations.
Bester seeks relief including lost wages and benefits, compensatory damages for physical injury and emotional suffering, punitive damages where allowed by law, litigation expenses including attorney’s fees and costs through final judgment, pre-judgment and post-judgment interest on all amounts awarded—including litigation expenses—and declarations or orders directing changes regarding her personnel file at Wheels LLC. She also demands all other legal or equitable relief deemed appropriate by the court.
The case is identified as Civil Action No. 1:26-cv-02103-ELR-JKL. Attorneys Alan H. Garber and Marc N. Garber of The Garber Law Firm represent Ta Keona Bester.
Source: 126cv02103_Takeona_Bester_v_Wheels_Complaint_Northern_District_Of_Georgia.pdf
