On April 17, 2026, Kennedy Hunt P.C. jointly filed a complaint with Harrison Litigation against Cameo Consulting Group, LLC in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis, alleging the company discriminated against and unlawfully withheld employment benefits to our client, including health insurance, paid leave, and retirement contributions.
According to the lawsuit, our client began working for Cameo Consulting Group, LLC in or about September 2022. The lawsuit claims that our client’s work as a certified nuclear medicine technologist was integral to Cameo’s business. But according to the lawsuit, Cameo misclassified Plaintiff as a 1099 independent contractor rather than a full-time W-2 employee, allegedly in violation of the company’s own policies and the law.
According to the lawsuit, our client asked Cameo for clarification about her classification and Cameo’s compliance obligations. The lawsuit alleges that Cameo admitted in an email that our client’s 1099 classification did not comply with the law.
Following this, our client then contacted the U.S. Department of Labor to report the misclassification violation. The lawsuit states that our client’s communications with Cameo management and her report to the Department of Labor were protected activities, including the reporting of suspected legal violations and/or refusal to participate in unlawful practices.
The lawsuit alleges that after the violation was reported, Cameo’s conduct toward our client changed sharply. According to the lawsuit, by April 2025, our client was instructed to limit her hours to 20 hours per week, substantially reducing her compensation and materially changing the terms and conditions of her work.
On or about June 13, 2025, our client filed for unemployment due to the reduction in her hours and resulting loss of income. The lawsuit states that Cameo opposed our client’s initial unemployment claim and falsely claimed that our client was not entitled to unemployment benefits because she was an independent contractor.
The lawsuit states that on or about July 25, 2025, Cameo sent our client a termination email that misleadingly claimed she resigned.
The lawsuit alleges that after her termination, our client updated her unemployment claim, which Cameo also opposed, allegedly falsely claiming our client quit her employment with Cameo. Our client prevailed in the unemployment appeal hearing. But, according to the lawsuit, Cameo’s actions in mischaracterizing our client’s separation as a resignation were part of an ongoing effort to retaliate against our client, to conceal or minimize wrongdoing, and to interfere with her rights.
According to the lawsuit, after her termination, Cameo hired a male certified nuclear medicine technologist who was paid at a rate approximately 28% higher than the wage Cameo represented to our client as the maximum allowable W-2 rate. The lawsuit alleges that the male certified nuclear medicine technologist had 10 fewer years of experience than our client and no prior VA experience.
The lawsuit continues:
“Defendant’s disparate treatment and shifting explanations further support the stated reasons for reducing Plaintiff’s hours, removing her from the assignment, and labeling her as having resigned were pretextual. On or about September 19, 2025, Cameo paid Plaintiff $13,815.31, designated as ‘retro/back wages and benefits,’ confirming that Cameo improperly classified Plaintiff as a 1099. This payment did not make Plaintiff whole for the value of two years of lost benefits, the full scope of back pay, or the retaliation and related harms Plaintiff suffered.”
This case is ongoing.
For more information, contact attorney Sarah Jane Hunt at sarahjane@kennedyhuntlaw.com. If you or someone you know has had their employment rights violated, our skilled attorneys at Kennedy Hunt, P.C. may be able to help you. Fill out a questionnaire so we can understand your claim.