NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a federal complaint on September 27 in New Orleans against Willis-Knighton Medical Center (WKMC) for violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title I of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 to correct unlawful employment practices on the basis of disability and to provide appropriate relief to Chanel Bradford.
According to the complaint, WKMC hired Bradford in 2012 knowing she has impairments including fibroids, dysmorphia, pelvic pain, elderly multigravida, antepartum conditions or complications, and endometritis that substantially limited one or more major life activities including but not limited to lifting and the operation of the reproductive functions.
In 2015, Bradford requested light or limited duty as a reasonable accommodation. WKMC allegedly failed to engage in a meaningful interactive process with Bradford and automatically refused to provide Bradford with any reasonable accommodation because WKMC determined that she had exceeded its fixed leave and light duty cap.
Bradford was terminated because she had exceeded the leave and light duty cap and because she could not return to work without restrictions, the EEOC says.
The EEOC is represented by Rudy L. Sustaita.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:21-cv-01774-ILRL-DMD