Her supervisor allegedly said she was "faking" it — then came the termination
Tesla allegedly fired a disabled employee after she collapsed with seizures at work and asked for shorter shifts, a new federal lawsuit claims.
Lakeisha Ward, a former Post Order Support representative at Tesla's Nevada operations, filed suit on March 18 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada (Ward v. Tesla, Inc., Case No. 2:26-cv-00800), bringing ten claims including disability discrimination, harassment, retaliation, failure to accommodate, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Ward disclosed her sickle cell disease when she was hired in October 2024, according to the filing. The trouble started in April 2025, when she told her supervisor she was feeling unwell. Despite her report, Tesla directed her back to work. She then suffered two back-to-back seizures in a hallway, collapsed twice, and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. The company did not file an incident report, the suit says.
Her supervisor allegedly told her she was not sick and suggested she "go outside and get some fresh air." The same supervisor also told coworkers that Ward was "faking" her condition, according to the lawsuit. When Ward asked about workers' compensation and medical leave, both requests were denied.
Three days after returning to work, Ward had another seizure on site and was again rushed to the hospital, hitting her head and breaking a tooth.
She went on short-term disability leave...
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