Quantcast

PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Woman says she has PTSD and employer failed to accommodate

Bldg dark night

PITTSBURGH - A woman is suing her former employer claiming age, sex, and disability discrimination in its alleged 2014 failure to provide reasonable accommodations.

Heather Pollier of Eldred sued Liberty Mutual Group Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on July 13, claiming unlawful discharge in August 2014 following her struggle to obtain modifications at her job.

The suit states that the plaintiff was hired in 2007 to work at the defendant’s Wexford location. According to the complaint, the plaintiff’s son was mistaken for an armed intruder in her office on or about the evening of July 28, 2010, when Pollier was working late and was erroneously detained by authorities.

The suit states that the episode traumatized her and resulted in a diagnosis of PTSD.

Pollier claims that her symptoms were triggered by being back in the office after medical leave, especially after dark, and that she requested a transfer to an alternate office location. The lawsuit states that when her supervisor allegedly responded unsympathetically, forcing Pollier to work nights in the office alone, her symptoms worsened to the point where she could not work from January 2012 through June 2014.

The filing states that the plaintiff continued to request an alternative working environment including an office at another location; that her doctor submitted supporting documentation in August 2012; and that other positions were available but no effort was made to accommodate her. Instead, the suit states, open positions were granted to less qualified, non-disabled individuals.

Arguing that her employer refused to engage in an interactive process with her, the plaintiff avers that she was terminated on June 20, 2014. She maintains that younger, male and non-disabled employees received favorable treatment at her expense.

Claiming violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, Pollier seeks compensation, attorneys’ fees, and court costs. She is represented by Leah Sell and Kimberly Kisner of Kisner Law Firm in Pittsburgh.

U.S. District Court Western District of Pennsylvania Case 1:15-cv-00167-BR.

More News