PHILADELPHIA — A former employee is suing Red Roof Inns Inc., a chain of hotels, citing alleged disability discrimination, failure to uphold Americans with Disabilities Act regulations, and retaliation.
Shannon Newton filed a complaint on Nov. 9 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Red Roof Inns Inc., d/b/a Red Roof Inn, alleging the chain of hotels breached its duty of good faith and fair dealings.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that in October 2017, she was hired by the defendant as Guest Services/Night Auditor in one of their branches located at 3011 Cabot Blvd. in Langhorne. Despite knowledge of her serious and long-term disabilities - including anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and other health conditions - plaintiff was still able to perform her duties well despite her medical conditions. she says.
Still, the suit says she required reasonable accommodations such as working for a maximum of 24 hours per week so as not to aggravate her condition, to which the defendant initially agreed. However, the defendant began demanding plaintiff to cover additional shifts, which forced her to actually work 40 hours per week, exacerbating her disabilities, the suit says.
The plaintiff holds Red Roof Inns Inc. d/b/a Red Roof Inn responsible because the defendant allegedly refused to provide plaintiff with a maximum 24 hour week schedule, and terminated plaintiff's employment in retaliation for requesting reasonable medical accommodations.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendant for compensatory and punitive damages, pay reimbursement and benefits, equitable and legal relief, costs, expenses and attorney's fees. She is represented by Ari Karpf of Karpf, Karpf & Cerutti PC in Bensalem.
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case No. is 18-cv-04856.