HR was allegedly tracking his time off — but not his peers'. Then came the written warning
A former TIAA wealth advisor says the firm ignored his disability needs, tightened the screws on performance and then fired him.
The allegations come in a federal lawsuit filed February 16, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The filing, which follows an EEOC charge lodged on June 10, 2025, claims the financial services company failed to properly handle accommodation requests and the return-to-work process after multiple concussions.
Phillip Pham joined TIAA in November 2015 and worked as a wealth advisor until his termination on October 15, 2024. According to the lawsuit, he suffered three concussions during his time at the firm — in 2016, around September 2021 and on July 13, 2023. The first concussion allegedly left him with memory loss, delayed speech and slower mental processing. After the third, his physician concluded that his symptoms mirrored his earlier condition.
For HR leaders, the timeline that follows will feel uncomfortably familiar.
The filing says that on September 20, 2023, Pham gave TIAA a physician’s letter recommending reduced hours for one month, a gradual ramp back to full-time and blue screen protection for his equipment. The suit claims the company did not reduce his workload, making it impossible to work shorter hours without hurting his performance, and did not formally approve reduced hours until early 2024. Even then,...
Caesar Munir Wilson, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen, may not have viewed the federal government as an entity that held legitimate legal authority over his life. Judging by the tax filing scam...