NEW ORLEANS –A scientist has filed a lawsuit against Abbott Laboratories claiming the company discriminated against her on the basis of disability and race by refusing a reasonable accommodation to allow her to work remotely despite her neurologist's recommendation.
Plaintiff Dr. Meiko Thompson filed the lawsuit in federal court against Abbott Laboratories
According to court documents, Thompson, a resident of Kenner, has been employed by Abbott Laboratories, a company based in Abbott Park, since 2017 and currently holds the position of certifying scientist.
Thompson claims that on November 14, 2021, she was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident with an 18-wheeler, which left her with a concussion and caused the death of her minor child. Due to chronic headaches diagnosed as occipital neuritis, the plaintiff's neurologist recommended working from home as a reasonable accommodation.
Abbott allegedly refused this accommodation, offering only reduced work hours. However, the decrease in work hours would cause Thompson to lose her medical insurance. As such, she was forced to increase her work hours to 20 hours per week to reinstate her medical insurance and continue receiving treatment for her neurological disabilities.
According to Thompson, Abbott's reason for refusing to allow her to work from home was because “a certifying scientist simply cannot perform the essential job duties remotely.” She alleges that this reason is a fabrication, as there are at least two other certifying scientists at the company currently are working remotely. Thompson contends that she and these two other scientists have the exact same job duties, with the only difference between her and them is that they don't have any known disabilities that require them to work remotely and that they're both Caucasian and she is not.
Thompson claims that by consistently refusing her a reasonable accommodation to work remotely, Abbott's actions constitute discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She also claims racial discrimination for the defendant's differential treatment of Caucasian employees.
According to the lawsuit, Thompson has filed a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Abbott.
Thompson is demanding a jury trial to seek a judgment for damages for lost wages and health benefits, emotional distress, and mental anguish, plus interest, attorney's fees, court costs, and any other relief the court deems proper.
The plaintiff is represented by attorney Venese M. Morgan of the Law Office of Venese M. Morgan in Baton Rouge.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana case number 2:23-cv-06972