Justin Pankow filed suit against Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Department of Justice, on March 17 in the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas, Beaumont Division.
In his suit, Pankow goes into great detail about his struggles with dyslexia throughout his life. He maintains he notified the FBI of his disability upon entering the Bureau.
Despite his disability, Pankow continues to further his education and became a doctoral student at Lamar University in 2008 but still had not completed the program at the time he filed his suit.
“Justin (Pankow) believes that the stress caused by the FBI's systematic discrimination and retaliatory actions have compounded the struggles related to his disability, leaving him mentally exhausted and unable to devote the mental resources needed to complete his course work,” the suit states.
According to his lawsuit, Pankow, an intelligence analyst, has been denied promotion multiple times and the Bureau allegedly refuses his requests for reasonable accommodations.
Pankow maintains his disability makes him a slower reader than most. He also has trouble spelling words correctly.
He contends the defendant’s actions are in violation of The Americans with Disabilities Act.
A scheduling order was entered in the case on Nov. 16, slating the litigation for trial on March 2, 2018.
Houston attorney Ashok Bail represents Pankow.
Case No. 1:16-cv-00074-MAC