In the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, Dana Williams has filed a lawsuit against St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 1, doing business as St. Tammany Parish Health System. The case (2:24-cv-00949-JTM-EJD) was filed on April 16, 2024 and alleges violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), and Louisiana Pregnancy Accommodation law.
The plaintiff, Dana Williams, represented by her counsel, claims that she was unjustly fired from her job at St. Tammany Parish Hospital after she provided a doctor's note stating she should avoid cleaning COVID-19 patient rooms due to her pregnancy and related health risks. The defendant is a Louisiana political subdivision operating St. Tammany Parish Hospital.
Williams suffered significant financial hardship due to her abrupt termination. She remained unemployed for approximately six and a half months during which she struggled to pay bills and relied on loans from friends and family to provide for herself and her newborn baby.
Williams seeks damages for the alleged violations of ADA, PDA, and state law, claiming that the hospital failed to make reasonable accommodations for her known physical limitations related to her pregnancy.