GALVESTON – A first-grade teacher is suing a Galveston County school district over allegations she was discriminated and retaliated against after taking leave after the death of her son.
Rachel Willard filed a complaint on Aug. 13 in the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas against Friendswood ISD alleging that the former employer violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff was a first-grade teacher at the defendant's Westwood Elementary School and took leave in 2016 after her son's death. She alleges after she returned from leave, the defendant demoted and terminated her.
The plaintiff holds Friendswood ISD responsible because the defendant allegedly discriminated and retaliated against her by constructively terminating her on the basis of her perceived disability.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks actual, compensatory and general damages, plus interest, attorney’s fees, costs and such other and further relief to which she may be justly entitled. She is represented by Ellen Sprovach and Gregg M. Rosenberg of Rosenberg & Sprovach in Houston.
Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas case number 3:18-cv-00233