PITTSBURGH – The former director of financial aid special programs for the University of Pittsburgh claims the school fired her because of her disability and stated her seizures "were a distraction" to fellow employees.
According to the Oct. 4 filing in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Estelle Belko filed the civil action against the University of Pittsburgh claiming violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA).
Belko alleges the defendant terminated her because she has epilepsy. The suit states she began her employment with the defendant in 2015 and disclosed her disability prior to accepting the position.
"(T)he University actively prevented Belko from returning to work, throwing up every roadblock it could, and demanding evermore clearances from her various medical professionals," the plaintiff's suit states. "Despite giving Belko a deadline to provide those clearances, the university quickly terminated her before it had expired, using a third-party insurance provider’s determination – which the university aggressively encouraged – as a cover for its own discriminatory decision."
Belko alleges she was terminated in February 2017.
Among Belko's requests for relief are front pay, lost benefits, compensatory, liquidated and punitive damages as well as medical and litigation costs.
The plaintiff is represented by Vincent Mersich of Stember Cohn & Davidson-Welling LLC in Pittsburgh.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania case number 2:19-cv-01267