Facts

Plaintiff Tiffany Harris worked as a general manager for defendant Coverall North America, Inc. from March 22, 2017 until she resigned on July 12, 2018. Plaintiff's job responsibilities as a general manager involved overseeing a regional support center, supervising her sales team, and making sales calls. In June 2018, plaintiff's mother was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo treatments. Defendant permitted plaintiff to take time off to care for her mother. When plaintiff had exhausted all time off available to her, she advised defendant that she would not be able to return to work, and asked defendant to let her work part time and from home for an indefinite period of time. Defendant advised plaintiff that general managers cannot work part-time from home, as they are responsible for managing the support center and participating in meetings. Plaintiff sued defendant in relation to the denied accommodation.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff contended that defendant violated the Fair Employment and Housing Act for disability discrimination because defendant denied plaintiff's request to work remotely for a few hours a week in order to care for her mother.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied plaintiff's contentions, noting that it had provided plaintiff with much more time off during her brief employment than was required either under the law or its own policies. Defendant contended that it had attempted to accommodate plaintiff, but could not agree to indefinitely leave its regional support center without a manager present to supervise the staff and conduct business. Ultimately, Plaintiff agreed to resign and accept defendant's offer of severance, but ultimately she did not complete the paperwork.

Result

The court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant Coverall North America, Inc.