Former employee with cancer sues Bucks Co. Conference and Visitor Bureau for wrongful termination

The Bucks County Conference and Visitor Bureau has been named as a defendant in a

wrongful termination suit filed by a former employee who claims he was fired from his job in retaliation for asking for special accommodations relating to a recent cancer diagnosis.

Roland Mracek alleges in his complaint, which was filed Dec. 10 at the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia by Bensalem employment attorney Ari R. Karpf, that he was terminated from his sales associate position with the Bucks County Conference and Visitor Bureau in late April of this year after he requested some medical accommodations, including potential future time off, because he had been diagnosed as having cancer about three months prior to his firing.

Mracek, 56, worked for the defendant for about four-and-a-half years as an inside salesperson performing an array of sales and marketing functions.

Prior to his termination, the plaintiff never received any disciplinary actions and was commended on his performance and achievements, the lawsuit states.

The defendant terminated Mracek under the guise of restructuring, the suit says, although the plaintiff contends that the true reason for his termination was that he requested intermittent time off for medical appointments and radiation therapy and because he had informed his management team that he would likely need a short medical leave of absence sometime in the future.

“Plaintiff was terminated from Defendant after a stellar work history in exceedingly close proximity to discussing his disabilities, his course of treatment, and requested accommodations,” the complaint reads.

The suit goes on to state that Mracek has struggled with cancer on and off for several years, and has been in remission at various times throughout that time period.

The disease, the suit says, has negatively affected his life activities, including working, thinking, neurological function and other physical functions.

The lawsuit accuses the defendant of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

The plaintiff seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, attorney’s fees, litigation costs and other equitable and legal relief.

 

The federal case number is 2:12-cv-06876-BMS.