A former employee has filed a lawsuit against a healthcare staffing company, alleging discrimination and wrongful termination. Patricia Quarry filed the complaint in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania on August 8, 2024, against Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc., doing business as Maxim Staffing Solutions, and Amergis Healthcare Staffing, Inc., formerly known as Maxim Healthcare Staffing Services, Inc.
The lawsuit stems from Quarry's employment with the defendants starting in May 2018 as a Practical Nurse in a home healthcare position. Quarry claims that despite her diagnosis of diabetes, sleep apnea, and hypoventilation syndrome—conditions that significantly impact her daily life—the defendants failed to provide reasonable accommodations. According to the complaint, Quarry was assigned demanding schedules that exacerbated her symptoms. When she protested these assignments due to health concerns, her supervisor allegedly dismissed her worries with comments like "Why are you complaining? You will be making money."
Quarry alleges that after informing her employer about her newly diagnosed disabilities in early 2023 and requesting reasonable accommodations such as adjusted work hours or less strenuous assignments, she was met with resistance and eventually terminated. The complaint states that on May 8, 2023, she was fired for an incident related to her disability despite providing medical documentation supporting her condition.
The plaintiff is seeking various forms of relief from the court including back pay, front pay, compensatory damages for emotional distress and wage loss, punitive damages for what she describes as intentional and outrageous conduct by the defendants, costs associated with the lawsuit, and reasonable attorney’s fees.
Representing Patricia Quarry is Justin M. Bahorich from J.P. Ward & Associates LLC. The case has been assigned Case No.: 2:24-cv-01146 and will be presided over by judges from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.