FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Employee Files Lawsuit against ULTA for Disability Discrimination
In May of 2011, Brooke accepted the position of associate manager at ULTA. Five years later, she suffered a heart attack and required a surgery. Brooke was diagnosed with Cardiac Syndrome X, which results in reduced blood flow. This impacts daily activities like walking, sitting, and standing. Brooke notified her supervisor and employer about her disability, and the reasonable accommodation of not having to travel long distances. Otherwise, Brooke was still able to perform her job.
About six months later, an HR representative called Brooke into a meeting, informing her that her cousin would be promoted to district manager. Unfortunately, this meant that Brooke would need to be transferred in order to uphold ULTA’s policy against nepotism. The HR representative handed Brooke a list of locations between 40-80 miles away.
Brooke immediately recognized the strain the commute would place on her disability, and she requested the reasonable accommodation of being transferred to a closer location. She also shared that such a long commute would make it extremely difficult for her to continue her treatments with her doctor for her disability. When ten days had passed, Brooke approached the HR representative to follow up on their previous conversation. The HR representative wanted to see Brooke’s medical paperwork. Even though Brooke knew that the company had the documents already, she emailed them another copy.
Once again, Brooke’s request for accommodation was met with a demand to choose a location that was 40-80 miles away. When Brook reiterated her concerns, the HR representative allegedly told her, “this is what we have to do.” Brooke reached out to another HR representative to request assistance, When Brook reiterated her concerns, the HR representative allegedly told her, “this is what we have to do.”but that representative allegedly made it clear that Brooke had to choose on of the locations or be terminated. Brooke was terminated two weeks later.
Brooke suspects that ULTA discriminated against her due to her disability because they refused to make a reasonable accommodation despite their many locations. As a client of KM&A, Brooke is fighting for her employee rights under the law. KM&A represents employees who have suffered discrimination and termination due to their disability.
Full text of this complaint, as filed with the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, is available at docket no: 2:17-cv-05834-NIQA
Kraemer, Manes & Associates LLC is an employment law firm with principal offices in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, serving all counties in Pennsylvania, focusing on employment law, business law, litigation, and civil issues. KM&A clients include employees, small businesses, parties in litigation, and people with a variety of legal issues.
For more information about this case, contact Attorney Jonathan Chase at 215-475-3504 or at jwc@lawkm.com.
NOTICE: All information contained in this statement comes from the Complaint which has been filed as a public record with the court. As dedicated civil rights attorneys, we strongly believe in the public value of telling our clients’ stories: violators can be held accountable, and other silent victims can feel empowered to stand up for their legal rights. Although we make every attempt to verify our clients’ claims, note that the defendant is expected to oppose our client’s position, and the court has not ruled one way or the other as of the date of this statement.
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