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.
