A nurse registered in Cheswick is suing the 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, who was hired by the health network in January 2019, was diagnosed with asthma when she was 4 years old.
“(Allegheny Health Network) blatantly retaliated against Eiler because of his disability needs during a global upper respiratory pandemic, when the defendant refused to adjust and then stopped Eiler,” the lawsuit said.
She is looking for repayment and reinstatement in her previous position.
The lawsuit, filed on Thursday in federal court, also includes a request for retaliation.
A message with an AHN spokesperson was not returned immediately.
When Eiler was hired, the complaint says, her duties required minimal contact with patients. Instead, she took care of the duties of the outpatient clinic, the telephone and the computer.
At the start of the alleged pandemic, Eiler’s doctor advised her to work from home, as her asthma put her at increased risk for severe covid disease.
The complaint said Eiler provided several letters from her doctor to her supervisors and sought accommodation to work from home, but all were refused.
Eiler took a two-week “quarantine leave” from March 23 to April 6, during which time he hoped AHN would be able to establish a work-from-home scenario.
Instead, in the alleged trial, Eiler’s supervisors told him he had to apply for a short-term disability.
When she did, the complaint continued, she was told that her request had been denied.
Then, Eiler said, he thought he had left under the Medical and Medical Leave Act between April 14 and May 1, but was later told he was ineligible because of “inconsistencies in his documents.”
“The defendant then informed Eiler that they had contacted her doctor and agreed on the cases for her asthma without Eiler’s permission or contribution, including sending a letter stating that the defendant had made arrangements to offer Eiler a withdrawn office, allowing contact of the patient or employees, ”said the process.
The terms of the agreement between AHN and her doctor, the complaint continued, included working in the office three days a week and from home on weekends.
However, when Eiler spoke with her doctor, the doctor “categorically denied having a conversation” with AHN or any network representative about her accommodations.
On May 21, Eiler said she attended a Zoom conference with many employees when she learned that her position had been eliminated.
“After further requesting Eiler, the defendant claimed that she refused to comply with ADA accommodations and that she missed work without obtaining the appropriate authorization,” the lawsuit said.
Paula Reed Ward is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Paula by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .
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