Employee with Disability Requests Day Shift and Then is Accused of a HIPPA Violation and Fired.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Employee Files Lawsuit against Penn Presbyterian Medical Center for Disability Discrimination

Tashana accepted a cardiology technician position at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in 2008. Then, in 2016, she started to experience extreme and persistent lightheadedness. Worried about these symptoms, Tashana enrolled in diagnostic treatment to pinpoint the root of the lightheadedness. She notified management of her symptoms and her efforts to discover the issue.

To complete the diagnostic process, Tashana requested and received FMLA-approved leave. In 2017, Tashana took a month of leave during the summer. In that time, she finally received the diagnosis of fiber muscular dysphasia (FMD). The doctor informed Tashana that FMD would make standing, walking, and some aspects of work difficult, but she’d still be able to perform her main duties.

When Tashana returned to work, she sought the reasonable accommodation of intermittent time off to support her medical treatment, and she requested day shift. Her employer allegedly told her that they didn’t need any additional help for the day shift, and her employer did not try to find another option for her. Tashana shared that some of the workers on the day shift told her they were almost always short staffed.

Soon after Tashana’s FMLA leave and requests for reasonable accommodation, management placed her on administrative leave. During that leave, she was terminated for alleged unauthorized access to medical files. Tashana was surprised by the accusation, but then, she remembered that when her brother had been a patient at the center that she’d looked up his room number. But she never accessed his private medical information.

Tashana believes that she was fired due to her disability and her request of her legal rights, especially since her termination occurred so quickly after her requests for reasonable accommodation. Now a client of KM&A, Tashana fights for her rights under the law. KM&A challenges employers who fail to uphold the law and discriminate against employees with disabilities.

 

Full text of this complaint, as filed with the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is available at docket no: 2:18-cv-01202-GEKP

Kraemer, Manes & Associates LLC is an employment law firm with principal offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, serving all counties in Pennsylvania, focusing on employment law, business law, litigation, and civil issues. KM&A clients include employees, small businesses, parties in litigation, and people with a variety of legal issues.

For more information about this case, contact Attorney Jonathan Chase at 215-475-3504 or at jwc@lawkm.com.

NOTICE: All information contained in this statement comes from the Complaint which has been filed as a public record with the court. As dedicated civil rights attorneys, we strongly believe in the public value of telling our clients’ stories: violators can be held accountable, and other silent victims can feel empowered to stand up for their legal rights. Although we make every attempt to verify our clients’ claims, note that the defendant is expected to oppose our client’s position, and the court has not ruled one way or the other as of the date of this statement.