ASU worker says use of leave behind firing

Suit claims job loss was violation of federal law

A former Arizona State University employee is suing the school, claiming she was improperly fired for taking time off under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

Dana Newell, a former assistant dean of the College of Public Service and Community Solutions, filed a lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix against the Arizona Board of Regents, which oversees ASU.

The lawsuit also names two ASU employees: Cynthia Lietz, Newell’s former supervisor and an associate dean, and Jonathan Koppell, the college’s dean.

Newell claims she experienced retaliation and harassment stemming from her use of the Family and Medical Leave Act to care for her father before her termination.

The act requires employers to give up to 12 weeks of annual unpaid leave for employees while protecting the workers’ jobs and maintaining health benefits.

Employees can receive FMLA leave for the birth or adoption of a child, to take care of an immediate family member with a serious health condi-

tion or to take care of themselves if they have a serious health condition.

The federal law prohibits employers from retaliating or discriminating against employees who use or seek to use it.

Newell is seeking lost wages and benefits, though the lawsuit doesn’t specify an amount. And, the lawsuit claims, because the defendants “acted willfully” in violating the act she is entitled to receive double the economic damages. She wants a jury trial.

An ASU spokesperson emailed a response that said, “It is not our practice to comment on the specifics of pending litigation. We are confident the facts will demonstrate that the ASU employees named in the complaint acted correctly in their handling of this matter.”

Lietz and Koppell did not return requests for comment.

In the lawsuit, Newell says she was an exemplary employee who received favorable evaluations throughout her 17 years at the university.

“Plaintiff Newell was one of the most trusted and honored members of the College of Public Service and Community Solutions leadership team, and received letters of support from faculty, staff, and former students demonstrating how she was well respected throughout the university community,” wrote attorneys Tod and Bradley Schleier of Schleier Law Offices.

Newell fell ill in spring 2016 and intermittently used sick leave and vacation time over the course of three months, while maintaining her standard workload.

She began to sense Lietz, her supervisor, was unhappy with her taking time off to address her illness, according to the lawsuit. But Newell claims the “unhappiness turned into harassment” when Newell’s father fractured his spine after a fall in October 2016.

At that time, Newell again took leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Newell took leave a couple of days every few weeks to travel to Lake Montezuma to help her mother take care of her father, the lawsuit states.

Newell alleges Lietz harassed and pressured her to work while she was helping her parents.

She stopped taking FMLA leave in February 2017 because she felt pressured to do so, the lawsuit alleges. She