ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A former Meigs County employee has filed a discrimination lawsuit against county commissioners claiming they fired her because they thought she had COVID.
Betsy Entsminger was a grant administrator before falling ill during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. According to her lawsuit, she was never able to get tested for the virus because testing was not widely available at the time and restricted to elderly and high-risk people.
She was advised by healthcare workers to go ahead and follow the usual procedures of quarantining.
Entsminger said she returned to work after her quarantine but was told to go back home because she still wasn’t feeling well. She talked to a health care provider, who also told her to stay home, according to the lawsuit.
After this second quarantine, Estminger was fired.
Entsminger said she was informed by one of the county commissioners that the other two commissioners believed she had COVID-19 and this is why she was fired. Entsminger said she never did learn whether she had COVID.
Two weeks ago, Entsminger filed a lawsuit in federal court against Meigs County commissioners alleging they violated state and federal anti-discrimination laws by firing her.
Entsminger argues in her lawsuit that getting fired because her employers believed she had COVID was an act of discrimination.
This case raises a tough legal question on whether COVID-19 qualifies as a disability, and...
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