HOUSTON — A former program director at ALS Group USA is alleging she faced disability discrimination and loss of her job because she had to work from home due to her neurological disorder and high COVID-19 risk.
Karissa Depew filed a complaint July 1 in Harris County District Court against ALS Group USA Corp., alleging disability discrimination.
Depew began working for ALS Group on Nov. 11, 2019, as a Global ERP program director whose duties included the global implementation of the company's Oracle Cloud, according to her complaint. She alleges that in March of 2020, she suffered from a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or "mini stroke" as well as a seizure and was told by her doctor she had an "elevated risk" for COVID-19 because of her neurological disorder.
Depew further alleges that she was granted accommodation to work from home because of her disability, however she faced pressure and discrimination from her supervisor due to her medical condition and work from home circumstances. Depew alleges that her supervisor and another employee were given her confidential medical information and that despite successfully overseeing the launch of the Oracle Cloud project, she was terminated in August of 2020 after complaining about the disability discrimination she faced from her supervisor.
Depew seeks monetary relief between $250,000 and $1 million, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. She is represented by Mark Lazarz and Dorian Vandenberg-Rodes of Shellist Lazarz Slobin LLP in Houston.
Harris County District Court case number 2021-39586