Company ‘punished’ worker who had a stroke and took medical leave in Florida, suit says

A property manager took a leave of absence after a stroke, then she was “punished” with a performance improvement plan the day she got back, according to a Florida lawsuit.

She later resigned, and now the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed a lawsuit in the Middle District of Florida accusing Elon Property Management of disability discrimination and retaliation.

McClatchy News reached out to the New Jersey company for comment Dec. 24 but did not immediately receive a response.

The woman was hired to oversee eight apartment complexes in the Tampa area in September 2020, according to the lawsuit filed Dec. 20.

Two and a half years into the job, she had a stroke, and the company granted her medical leave for about three months while she recovered, the EEOC said.

In June 2023, a human resources executive told the worker that per company policy, she “could only return to work if she submitted a doctor’s note indicating that she had no restrictions” and got a signed copy of her job description, the lawsuit says.

EEOC attorneys say this “100% healed policy” discriminates against not only the woman who had the stroke but also against other Elon employees. The company will only allow workers to come back if they don’t need accommodations or have impairments, the suit says. Otherwise, workers are “terminated or forced to take additional leave,” officials said.

According to the lawsuit, the property manager returned to work a week after the conversation with HR, and that same day her bosses put her on an action plan, essentially a performance improvement plan.

During the time she was away, other employees managed her apartment complexes, but occupancy rates fell, officials said.

The action plan required the manager to boost occupancy rates during her first two weeks back to work, and put her at risk of being fired if she didn’t, according to the lawsuit.

The woman refused to sign the plan, and her boss scheduled a meeting to issue a final warning, officials said.

She resigned three days later, the lawsuit says.

The manager said she “felt compelled to resign because she believed Elon was trying to fire her and felt the additional stress from Elon’s disciplinary actions was detrimental to her health,” according to the filing.

EEOC officials said this amounted to retaliation for taking protected leave. The agency wants the company to end what it calls discriminatory practices that violate the ADA and to compensate the property manager and any other affected employees.

This story was originally published December 24, 2024 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Company ‘punished’ worker who had a stroke and took medical leave in Florida, suit says."