There
are
reasons
to
fire
people.
Declining
work
quality?
Sure.
Throwing
Molotov
cocktails
at
cop
cars?
You
betcha.
Getting
sick?
Those
are
much
murkier
waters.
Not
only
is
it
a
scummy
thing
to
do,
but
there
are
laws
in
place
that
are
meant
to
protect
workers
that
fall
ill
or
develop
a
disability
over
time.
Biglaw
is
no
exception.
Ballard
Spahr,
a
firm
that
raked
in
a
very
respectable
$484,354,000
gross
revenue
in
2023,
is
currently
facing
a
lawsuit
from
one
of
its
former
employees
over
their
alleged
failure
to
accommodate
to
her
disability.
Law360
has
coverage:
A
former
attorney
for Ballard
Spahr
LLP filed
suit
against
the
firm
and
the
head
of
its
employee
benefits
group
Tuesday
in
New
York
federal
court,
claiming
she
was
fired
for
taking
medical
leave
and
seeking
a
more
flexible
work
schedule
to
deal
with
her
epilepsy
and
a
gastrointestinal
condition.In
a 64-page
complaint,
Kimberly
Steefel
also
claimed
that
Ballard
Spahr
and
Brian
Pinheiro,
the
leader
of
the
firm’s
employee
benefits
and
executive
compensation
group,
intentionally
kept
women
in
lower-level
positions
and
gave
them
fewer
resources
than
their
male
colleagues.
Steefel’s
case
includes
claims
against
the
firm
under
the
Americans
with
Disabilities
Act
and
Title
VII,
and
against
both
the
firm
and
Pinhiero
under
New
York
state
and
local
laws.
While
at
a
work
conference,
Steefel
fell
ill
and
was
told
to
go
home.
She
had
an
epileptic
seizure
on
the
way.
While
she
was
on
medical
leave,
she
checked
in
with
HR
to
ask
about
the
specifics
of
their
medical
leave
policies.
She
was
told
that
disability
leave
is
usually
capped
at
six
months.
When
she
returned
to
work
under
that
window,
things
should
have
been
fair
game.
Instead,
she
alleges
that
the
accommodations
she
requested
based
on
her
doctor’s
recommendations
were
ignored
wholesale.
You’d
think
a
firm
would
do
a
better
job
of
understanding
and
accommodating
for
how
unexpected
illness
could
impact
their
employees,
what
with
COVID
and
all.
One
of
her
main
requests
—
some
flexibility
in
her
schedule
to
accommodate
for
flareups
—
doesn’t
even
seem
that
difficult
to
accommodate
for.
Steefel’s
lawyer,
Ethan
Krasnoo,
had
this
to
say:
“No
employees
who
can
fulfill
the
essential
functions
of
their
job
should
be
terminated
or
find
themselves
facing
discrimination
because
of
a
disability…Ms.
Steefel
intends
to
vigorously
fight
in
court
the
injustices
that
she
alleges
she
encountered,
and
hopes
that
sharing
her
story
will
prevent
further
discrimination
in
the
future.”
If
you’d
like
to
keep
the
case
on
your
radar,
you
can
find
it
at
Steefel
v.
Ballard
Spahr
LLP
et
al.,
case
number 1:25-cv-02885,
in
the U.S.
District
Court
for
the
Southern
District
of
New
York.
Ballard
Spahr
Fired
Atty
For
Taking
Medical
Leave,
Suit
Says
[Law360]
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.