Fired during a doctor-ordered quarantine, Kansas woman sues for $75,000 in damages
A Butler County resident says she was improperly fired six days after a doctor ordered her to quarantine her child for two weeks during the early days of the pandemic, according to a federal lawsuit over the termination.
Lauryn Simpson worked for South Central Mental Health Counseling Center as a full-time case manager. She’s seeking more than $75,000 in damages and a trial by jury.
In January 2020, Simpson’s daughter began to experience breathing difficulties such as strep and pneumonia.
At that time, a doctor required her daughter to stay home for a week. A manager approved Simpson’s leave from work, but also notified her that the company has “a sick policy stating that anything above 5 days is excessive.”
In mid-March last year, as concerns over the coronavirus grew widespread across the U.S., the executive director of the counseling center told staff in an email that no one would lose their jobs over the “flu (COVID-19) hysteria,” according to court documents.
Soon after that email, Simpson’s daughter was diagnosed with a respiratory infection that makes her especially vulnerable to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. By late March, a doctor said Simpson should quarantine her daughter for two weeks and faxed a note to Simpson’s employer meant to excuse her from work.
Simpson notified her manager that she needed leave from work for the quarantine. However, just days later, the manager texted to ask Simpson when she would return to work.
Two days after that, Simpson was fired and removed from all work group chats, according to court documents.
The lawsuit argues that by requesting leave to quarantine on doctor’s orders, Simpson was protected from discrimination and retaliation by the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act.
The Family and Medical Leave Act, known as the FMLA, requires certain employers to provide job-protected and unpaid leave for some family and medical reasons, including to care for a child with serious health conditions.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, known as the FFCRA, was enacted early on in the pandemic to require certain employers to provide paid sick leave for reasons related to COVID-19.
Simpson was terminated on March 27, 2020. The FFCRA covered workers from April 1 to Dec. 31, 2020.
In seeking more than $75,000 from the allegedly improper firing, Simpson hopes to recover front pay and lost benefits, among other costs.
This story was originally published June 25, 2021 at 12:37 PM.
