An internal HR email cited in the complaint questioned the path from leave to termination
The EEOC is suing a New Mexico hospital, alleging it fired a 14-year employee with a disability rather than reassign her to an open role.
The federal agency filed suit against St. Vincent Hospital, doing business as Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, on March 31 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico (Case 1:26-cv-00968). The case raises questions that will sound familiar to many HR leaders: how far does the duty to accommodate actually go, and what happens when the interactive process falls short?
At the center of the case is Catherine Maes, who joined the hospital in 2008 as a medical assistant and was later promoted to Patient Care Assistant II in 2018. According to the EEOC's filing, Maes was a strong performer who never scored below a 3 out of 5 on her evaluations and even appeared in a company training video.
That track record hit a turning point in November 2021, when Maes fell and injured her foot. What followed was surgery, a diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome, and months of limited mobility. The hospital approved FMLA leave, and Maes returned in late February 2022 on light duty, handling phone calls and managing pap books from a desk.
The EEOC alleges Maes repeatedly communicated her restrictions to the hospital and, in late March or early April 2022, told HR and her supervisor she wanted to transfer to a role better suited to her...
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