In a striking lawsuit filed on June 11, 2024, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Theresa Pryzby accuses Academy Road Medical Associates, LLC of unlawful termination based on her disability, gender, and pregnancy. The complaint alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA).
Theresa Pryzby began her employment with Academy Road Medical Associates as a Phlebotomist and Medical Assistant on August 1, 2017. Despite receiving positive performance reviews and no justifiable discipline during her tenure, her employment took a dramatic turn after she disclosed her high-risk pregnancy to Dr. Herbert Schecter, the managing member of the defendant company. According to Pryzby’s account, she was assured that she could take maternity leave starting at the end of February 2018 and was told not to come in if she felt unwell due to her condition.
However, complications arose when Pryzby was hospitalized for three to four days in February 2018 due to her high-risk pregnancy. Despite submitting doctors' notes regarding her hospitalization, these were reportedly rejected by the defendant. Further complications ensued when Joanne Chirico, the office manager at Academy Road Medical Associates, allegedly accessed Pennsylvania's prescription database without Pryzby's consent and discovered that she had been prescribed Suboxone and Subutex for narcotic addiction treatment.
The complaint details an incident where Chirico pressured Pryzby to disclose her use of Suboxone to Dr. Schecter. When Pryzby refused, Chirico allegedly took it upon herself to inform Dr. Schecter about Pryzby's medication while she was out on maternity leave. Subsequently, on March 8, 2018—just six days after giving birth—Pryzby received notice that her employment had been terminated due to "unexcused" absences during her hospitalization and unspecified "ongoing medical issues."
Pryzby contends that these reasons were pretextual and that the real motives behind her termination were discriminatory practices based on her pregnancy and disability status. She argues that this conduct violated multiple federal laws designed to protect employees from such discrimination.
The plaintiff is seeking substantial relief from the court including back wages and front pay amounting to no less than $150,000; punitive damages; compensatory damages for emotional distress; costs associated with prosecuting this action; pre-judgment interest; and any other relief deemed just and equitable by the court.
Representing Theresa Pryzby are attorneys Michael Murphy and Johannes Hoffman from Murphy Law Group LLC. The case has been assigned Civil Action No.: 2:24-cv-02560-TJS under Judge Timothy J. Savage.