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A registered nurse in Cheswick is suing Allegheny Health Network because she said the health network discriminated against her and failed to accommodate her when the covid-19 pandemic began in the spring.
Samantha Eiler, hired by the health network in January 2019, was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 4.
“(Allegheny Health Network) openly retaliated against Eiler over his disability needs during a global upper respiratory pandemic, when the defendant refused to accommodate and ultimately terminated Eiler,” the lawsuit says.
She is asking for compensation and reinstatement in her previous post.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court Thursday, also includes a demand for retaliation.
A message with an AHN spokesperson was not immediately returned.
When Eiler was hired, according to the complaint, her duties required minimal contact with patients. Instead, she took care of the outpatient office, phone and computer duties.
At the start of the pandemic, according to the lawsuit, Eiler’s doctor advised him to work from home because his asthma put him at an increased risk of serious illness from covid.
The complaint states that Eiler provided several letters from his doctor to his supervisors and requested accommodations to work from home, but they were all turned down.
Eiler took a two-week “quarantine leave” from March 23 to April 6, during which time she hoped AHN would be able to set up a work-from-home scenario.
Instead, according to the lawsuit, Eiler’s supervisors told her that she had to apply for short-term disability.
When she did, the complaint continued, she was told that her request was denied.
Then, said Eiler, she believed she was outside the Family and Medical Leave Act from April 14 to May 1, but was later told she was not eligible due to ” inconsistencies in his papers ”.
“The defendant then informed Eiler that they had contacted his doctor and agreed to accommodations for his asthma, without Eiler’s permission or contribution, including sending a letter stating that the defendant had taken arrangements to provide Eiler with an isolated office, allowing no contact with a patient or employee, ”the lawsuit said.
The terms of that agreement between AHN and his doctor, the complaint continued, provided for working in the office three days a week and at home on weekends.
However, when Eiler spoke to her doctor, the doctor “categorically denied having had a conversation” with AHN or any other network representative about accommodation for her.
On May 21, Eiler said she was on a Zoom conference call with numerous employees when she learned that her position had been eliminated.
“Following further pressure from Eiler, the defendant claimed that she had refused to comply with ADA accommodations and had missed her job without obtaining the proper authorization,” the lawsuit said.
Paula Reed Ward is a writer for Tribune-Review. You can contact Paula by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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