On Wednesday a case was filed in the Central District of California by Dina Alvarez against Molina Healthcare. The case is regarding disability discrimination, retaliation, and violation of the California Labor Code for overtime and unreimbursed expenses.
The plaintiff, per court documents, was an employee of the defendant as a reconciliation specialist in the Medicare department conducting data entry work. The plaintiff contracted COVID-19 and was unable to work for one month as a direct result, but later had complications including depression. The patient exhausted her FMLA leave, but was still qualified as disabled under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).
Per the plaintiff, the defendant pressured the plaintiff to return to full time in person work by April 11 or she would be dismissed and her position filled by an applicant. The plaintiff submitted a doctor’s note indicating that she was still affected by depression and the defendant fired the plaintiff, without engaging in any discussion or accommodation of her disabled state.
The plaintiff also indicates that the defendant was responsible for unpaid overtime and expenses. During her employment, the defendant would grant 1-2 hour overtime approvals, but the approvals were insufficient for the amount of work, which the defendant required. Finally, the plaintiff indicated that during March and April of 2021, the plaintiff was working from home and incurred work related data and phone charges that were not compensated.
The plaintiff is suing for disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation, failure to engage in the interactive process, wrongful termination, unpaid overtime, and unreimbursed expenses. The plaintiff is represented by Buchsbaum & Haag, LLP.
