A former employee has taken legal action against a major venue and event management company, alleging discrimination and retaliation. On September 12, 2024, Jessica Chadwick filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against ASM Global.
According to the court documents, Chadwick was hired by ASM Global as an Accounts Payable Specialist on August 20, 2022. Shortly after her employment began, she disclosed her disability—severe asthma related to long-COVID—to her supervisors and requested the reasonable accommodation of working from home when her symptoms were severe. Despite this request, Chadwick alleges that she faced discriminatory treatment from Kim Miller, Head of Human Resources, who threatened to terminate her if she called out sick due to her disability. "Miller mocked Plaintiff and asked her 'if she was a child,' or words to that effect," the complaint states.
Chadwick's difficulties did not end there. In September 2022, when she requested time off for a doctor's appointment, it was initially denied by Phil Sabo, Assistant Comptroller. Although he eventually approved it after repeated requests made in front of other employees, he counted it against her attendance record. Furthermore, when Chadwick had to leave work early to care for her autistic daughter, she received a final written warning without prior notice or justification.
The complaint details further incidents where Chadwick was treated unfairly compared to other employees. For instance, while other employees were allowed to work from home one day per week starting in the fall of 2022, Chadwick’s request for similar accommodations was denied because "her time away from work made her detrimental to the team." Additionally, during the holiday season in December 2022 and January 2023, Chadwick worked extra hours with the promise of overtime pay but was later told those hours would be converted into "floating PTO" instead.
On January 17, 2023, Chadwick was terminated without any provided reason. She believes that this termination was directly related to her disability and constituted retaliation for requesting reasonable accommodations under both federal and state laws. The complaint cites violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA).
Chadwick is seeking compensatory damages for emotional pain and suffering as well as punitive damages and liquidated damages. She also seeks reasonable attorneys' fees and recoverable costs along with pre- and post-judgment interest. Moreover, she demands an injunction preventing ASM Global from engaging in discriminatory practices in violation of ADA and PHRA.
Representing Jessica Chadwick are attorneys David M. Koller and Jordan D. Santo from Koller Law LLC based in Philadelphia. The case has been assigned Case ID: 2:24-cv-04840.