On December 27, 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC"), on behalf of a female cook diagnosed with breast cancer, filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District Court of North Carolina under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, ("ADA") and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 against Britthaven, Inc. The EEOC sought injunctive relief, compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys' fees and costs, claiming that the defendant discriminated against one if its employees based on her disability when it terminated the employee's employment while she was on medical leave for chemotherapy treatments.

The employee began working as a full-time cook for the defendant on September 25, 2009 and was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months later. She immediately notified the defendant of her diagnosis and her treatment plan. The employee received chemotherapy treatment until about October 2010, where she underwent surgery related to her breast cancer. She gave the defendant a doctor's note requesting four to six weeks of medical leave for the surgery. The defendant responded it would be glad to have the employee return back to work on December 10, 2010. However, on November 29, 2010, the employee received a call from her supervisor saying she was going to get fired for not coming into work. The employee was given the option of resigning, but when she refused to do so, the defendant terminated her employment.

On January 9, 2014, the District Court (Judge William Earl Britt) issued a consent decree where, among other things, the defendant agreed to pay the employee $50,000.

Perry Miska - 04/06/2014


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