A workplace attack worsened her disability - what the airline did next is now in court
A Tampa gate agent says American Airlines refused a parking accommodation after a workplace attack worsened her disability - then retaliated when she complained.
The employee has worked for American Airlines at Tampa International Airport since 2015. In a complaint filed September 3, 2026 in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida, she says her problems began in the employee parking lot - and that a simple request turned into a months-long fight.
On June 7, 2025, the filing alleges, an employee of a third-party vendor threatened her and vandalized her car in the lot. That worker was arrested, charged with felony criminal mischief, and sentenced to 36 months of probation, according to the complaint. The gate agent, who the filing says has physical and psychological disabilities, alleges the attack worsened her symptoms and limited her ability to safely cross the parking and shuttle area.
Her request was modest. Days later she asked for a space in Lot 6, an auxiliary lot connecting directly to the terminal where American operates. The complaint says an airport Aviation Authority official advised American that under a standing procedure it should accommodate her “amongst American’s assigned spaces at Airside F.”
Instead, the filing describes pushback. According to the complaint, the airline’s general manager told her she did not have a disability, suggested she take a week...
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