Woman sues over job loss
Plaintiff says she was fired because she had cancer
A Maud, Texas, woman says she was fired from a nursing job at a home health agency in Bowie County because she suffered from breast cancer.
In a lawsuit filed recently in federal court in Texarkana, Margie Campbell alleges she was fired from At Home Health Care, a subsidiary of Bienville Holdings, the same day she notified her employer she would need time off for reconstructive surgery.
None of the parties could be reached for comment Thursday.
Campbell was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2011, according to a complaint filed on her behalf June 30 by Texarkana lawyer Jonathan Prazak. At the time of her diagnosis, Campbell was working as a licensed practical nurse with AHEC Southwest Family Clinic in Texarkana, Ark.
In September 2012, Campbell applied for a higher paying job with At Home Healthcare.
“During at least three separate interviews with company representatives before her eventual hire on Oct. 1, 2012, plaintiff was bald from chemotherapy and explained to those representatives that she would have to continue to undergo chemotherapy and would requare at least five reconstructive surgeries,” the complaint states.
Campbell began working for At Home Healthcare in a clerical position as a vocational nurse intake coordinator. Campbell alleges she told her employer she was scheduled for
surgery Nov. 8, 2012, during the interview process but gave them additional notice in writing Nov. 1, 2012.
“After receiving that notice, plaintiff was contacted by At Home Healthcare’s head of human resources, who questioned the need for plaintiff’s absence and threatened to deny the requested leave. Despite those threats, plaintiff was allowed to take leave for her first reconstructive surgery,” the complaint states.
Campbell’s complaint states she gave At Home Healthcare notice when she returned to work that she had another operation scheduled for March 5, 2013. Shortly before taking leave for her second surgery, Campbell was moved to a new clerical position: supervising nurse/LVN clinical support.
Campbell says she asked for additional training in her new position when she came back to work after her second surgery March 18, 2013.
“During the additional training on March 28, 2013, plaintiff verbally informed her employer of a third reconstructive surgery scheduled for June of 2013. Shortly thereafter, plaintiff was fired the same day. Company representatives told plaintiff she was ‘not trainable’ and lacked a ‘can-do’ attitude,” the complaint states. “From Oct. 1, 2012, through March 28, 2013, plaintiff only received one poor job performance review at At Home Healthcare in December of 2012 (but otherwise received exemplary marks),” the complaint states.
Campbell claims she was able to correct the “deficiencies” noted in the December 2012 evaluation that pertained to her work in her former position.
“Therefore, given plaintiff’s lack of training in her new position, as well as the timing between her verbal notice of her third surgery and her firing, plaintiff was terminated solely because of a disability—her breast cancer,” the complaint states.
Campbell is seeking damages for lost wages and benefits, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience and mental anguish. Campbell’s complaint alleges she is entitled to punitive damages because she was allegedly fired because of a disability.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Michael Schneider in the Texarkana division of the Eastern District of Texas. No hearings are scheduled in the case, and At Home Healthcare has not filed a response to Campbell’s complaint.