A former employee is taking legal action against her previous employer, alleging discrimination and wrongful termination. Joyce Lamereaux filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on August 7, 2024, against The RiteScreen Company, LLC, and her direct supervisor Bryce Harman.
The lawsuit outlines a series of alleged discriminatory actions and failures to accommodate Ms. Lamereaux's medical condition. Ms. Lamereaux began working at RiteScreen in February 2017 as a Production Worker and later took on additional responsibilities as an Assembler and Screener. Her role required significant physical labor, which became increasingly difficult due to her diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis—a condition causing severe symptoms such as menstrual bleeding, fatigue, anxiety, stress, and difficulty regulating body temperature.
Despite informing her employer about her condition and providing medical documentation to support her need for accommodations, Ms. Lamereaux claims that she faced ongoing mistreatment from Mr. Harman. She alleges that he made rude comments about her frequent bathroom breaks needed to manage her symptoms and showed a complete lack of empathy for her condition.
In late June 2023, after returning from a leave of absence related to her medical issues, Ms. Lamereaux experienced severe symptoms at work but was instructed by Mr. Harman to go home instead of being offered reasonable accommodations. Despite informing RiteScreen's Human Resources about her upcoming surgery scheduled for July 13, 2023, she was terminated on July 10, 2023—just days before the procedure.
Ms. Lamereaux argues that this termination was not only discriminatory but also retaliatory in nature due to her requests for accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). She contends that similarly situated white employees received more favorable treatment and broader protections than she did.
The plaintiff seeks various forms of relief from the court including back pay, pre-judgment interest, compensatory damages for emotional distress and wage loss, punitive damages due to the intentional nature of the defendants' actions, costs associated with bringing the lawsuit, and attorney’s fees.
Representing Ms. Lamereaux is Joshua P. Ward from J.P. Ward & Associates LLC based in Pittsburgh. The case has been assigned Case ID: 1:24-cv-01332-YK with Judge Yvette Kane presiding over it.