TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A veterinarian says when she was fired by the Topeka Zoo her world was “turned upside down.”
Shirley Yeo Llizo has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against the city of Topeka, alleging she was fired from the Topeka Zoo in 2009 because she is a female of Chinese ancestry and a naturalized U.S. citizen. The city has denied the allegations.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Llizo got her job back in 2010 after an arbitrator ruled the city shouldn’t have dismissed her.
During testimony Wednesday in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., Llizo said she was embarrassed about being fired and didn’t know if she could continue working in zoos.
The trial continues Thursday.
