Hospital denied disability medical leave for Georgia worker, then fired her, feds say
.jpg "An air ambulance makes its approach to the pad at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. Grady Memorial Hospital Corporation, a public hospital in Atlanta, is being sued after it refused to process the medical leave of an employee with a disability as an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.")
A Georgia hospital refused to let an employee with a disability go back to work after her medical leave and then fired her using the “pretext” of a work rule violation, according to the U.S. government.
Now, the hospital is getting sued.
Grady Memorial Hospital, a public hospital in Atlanta, is being sued after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a news release it refused to process the medical leave of an employee with a disability as an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
”Grady Health System (Grady) has just learned of this lawsuit and is currently reviewing the allegations. Grady complies with all federal and state discrimination laws and does not discriminate against employees based on any protected class status. Grady denies the allegations and will file its defenses at the appropriate time,” a spokesperson for Grady Memorial Hospital told McClatchy News on May 25.
The employee had requested about five weeks of leave due to a “medical condition,” according to the EEOC’s lawsuit.
But when she tried to return to work, the hospital refused to accept her doctor’s release and fired her for “violating a work rule,” the U.S. agency said, adding that it believes the “discharge was a pretext for disability discrimination.”
The agency said it is now seeking back pay and damages for the employee. The hospital is also facing an “injunctive relief to prevent future discrimination.”
“Grady claims to have strictly applied a work rule instead of processing its employee’s request for leave as an accommodation under the ADA,” Marcus G. Keegan, regional attorney for the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office, said in the release. “Had Grady simply accommodated its employee as the law requires. she would not have been fired and this situation would not have arisen.”
This story was originally published May 25, 2022 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Hospital denied disability medical leave for Georgia worker, then fired her, feds say."
