HOUSTON — A 71 one year old woman who suffered a stroke claims her employer fired her for taking medical leave and asking for accommodations and then replaced her with a younger employee.
Estella H. Espinoza filed a complaint July 5 in Harris County District Court against ABM Industries Incorporated and GCA Education Services Inc., alleging disability discrimination.
According to her complaint, Espinoza began working as a cleaner and manager for the defendants in February of 2018. A year later she suffered a stroke which caused her to require certain accommodations and requested leave under the Family Medical Leave Act from May 2020 through September of 2020. She claims that during her leave on April 12, 2020, she was terminated with no reason given and that throughout her leave, she attempted to communicate with the defendants about her return to work and accommodations with no success and without knowledge that she had been fired.
Espinoza further claims she was replaced by a younger employee despite the fact that she was still capable of performing her job functions "with or without an accommodation" and that her termination was disability and age discrimination. She also claims the defendants interfered with her FMLA rights.
Espinoza seeks monetary relief, interest, trial by jury and all other just relief. She is represented by Joshua Verde of The Verde Law Firm PLLC in Houston.
Harris County District Court case number 2021-40213