The Brentwood office of a Georgia-based law firm faces court charges of wrongly firing one of its paralegals despite her COVID-related disability.
Julia Russo, Paralegal at Moore Ingram Johnson & Steele from Summer 2018 to Summer 2020, and Representation filed the federal lawsuit in the US District Court of Middle Tennessee under the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act – the former applies, as the law firm is a medium-sized employer with more than 50 employees and the latter due to fewer than 500 employees.
Russo took an extended leave of absence during the pandemic, compounded by her fear of exposure to the virus, which her doctor confirmed as being driven by her innate susceptibility to Guillain-Barre syndrome, which makes her one of the many people who are more likely to die if they contracted the coronavirus.
When Russo asked to work remotely, administrative partner Bill Johnson allegedly wrote to other management, “Let us accommodate her by firing her,” recommending, as sub-managers, rights over what her doctor is as a disability, Johnson insisted, suggestion is best, ”the court record said. The company then terminated Russo’s employment relationship, which Russo said was directly related to the disability in violation of the FMLA. The company also failed to invoke a paid vacation policy.
At the time of publication, MIJS had declined to comment on the case or Russo’s termination.
When she informed Russo of the next steps, Johnson emailed her: “Greg and Jody have made me aware that your FMLA is expiring and you are requesting to extend your FMLA for either 30 days until August 16. I have to point out that we won’t have to keep your job after July 16th. If a position is available after that date and you are ready to return on site and work in the office, we will consider you for any open positions we have at that time. Working remotely means undue hardship for the company. The position of a paralegal simply cannot be done 100% remotely without causing additional difficulties for the law firm and your employees. “
Russo’s representative argued that MIJS management had “a lax attitude towards preventing the transmission of COVID-19” – evidenced by the company’s lack of a mask mandate at peak infection rates for the greater Nashville area and company-wide email from shareholder partner Troy Hart in April 2020, mocking COVID-19 concerns by calling it the “China virus” – making Russo even more fearful. The office is known to be relatively small with an open floor plan that, in Russo’s attorney’s view, does nothing to combat airborne contagion.
Founded in 1984, MIJS is a national law firm with additional offices in Knoxville; Lexington, Kentucky; Marietta, Georgia; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Florida offices in Jacksonville, Orlando and Santa Rosa Beach.
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