A knowledge interpreter is suing Los Angeles County for incapacity discrimination, alleging she was subjected to disparate therapy as a result of she was solely given restricted potential to work at home as she handled abdomen most cancers and finally positioned on unpaid depart.
Uyen Duong’s Los Angeles Superior Court docket lawsuit was filed Wednesday and alleges harassment, retaliation and failure to accommodate and interact within the interactive course of. She seeks unspecified damages.
A county consultant issued an announcement Monday saying, “The county usually doesn’t touch upon pending litigation or particular person personnel issues. Nevertheless, we do need to clarify that L.A. County actively helps an inclusive office and has structured a variety of advantages, insurance policies and applications to prioritize our workers’ well-being and security.”
Duong was employed as a analysis analyst 2 in June 2017 and promoted two years later to an analyst 3 within the Environmental Well being Division, performing her job nicely, the go well with states. Nevertheless, in 2021 she was harassed and subjected to retaliation as a result of a decline in her well being that left her dizzy and vomiting blood, which was recognized as being abdomen most cancers, in keeping with the go well with.
When the county started asking workers to begin returning to their places of work 4 days per week in July 2021 after they’d been working from house as a result of coronavirus pandemic, administration declined to permit Duong to proceed working from house from July and August of that 12 months to heal, telling her she must take unpaid depart, the go well with states.
Duong filed a criticism about her work situations with the county Fairness Oversight Panel, underwent abdomen surgical procedure and began seeing a psychiatrist, in keeping with her go well with, which additional states that her physician stated she might work full time by the tip of 2021 if she stayed house as a result of her well being and surgical procedure.
Nevertheless, regardless of three conferences along with her division, Duong was not given work-from-home lodging and her division director was not current for any of the classes, in keeping with the go well with, which additional states that the plaintiff subsequently complained to the California Civil Rights Division as a result of her division was allegedly discriminating and harassing her primarily based on her situation.
Duong was finally allowed to work at home two days weekly by June 2023, however she believes administration’s concession was not likely an lodging as a result of her division on the time was permitting all employees to telework two days per week as a result of surge within the Omnicron variant, the go well with states.
Regardless of having a health care provider’s word that she wanted to work at home for an additional six months starting final August as a result of her worsening situation, her division didn’t accommodate her and as an alternative positioned her on unpaid medical depart, in keeping with the go well with.
Duong was “constructively discharged” final September, years earlier than she wished to retire, in keeping with the go well with, which additional states that she has suffered financially, skilled emotional misery and seen her status impaired.
