PHILADELPHIA - A Black bus driver and cancer survivor says he was treated unfairly by the Abington School District Authority after being unable to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
John L. Ingram III, a former bus driver for the Abington School District Authority, has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, alleging race and disability discrimination.
The lawsuit was filed on Jan. 15 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania by Christopher DelGaizo of The Derek Smith Law Group on behalf of Ingram.
Ingram, an African American cancer survivor with various ailments, claims that he experienced disparate treatment and a hostile work environment during his employment with the school district.
He alleges that Jennifer Williams, the Assistant Director of Human Resources at Abington School District Authority, mistreated African American employees by applying greater scrutiny to their work and offering fewer accommodations than those offered to similarly situated Caucasian bus drivers.
The complaint also details Ingram's struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic due to his immunocompromised status. Despite expressing concerns about his own health and that of his family members who also have compromised immune systems, Ingram was instructed to return to work in September 2020, the suit says.
He requested reasonable accommodations such as unpaid leave and an accommodated vehicle but claims he was given an ultimatum to return to work or face consequences in February 2021.