Woman tears ACL, sues Macy's for disability discrimination

CHARLESTON - A woman is suing her former employer after she claims she was discriminated against because of her disability.

Macy's Retail Holdings Inc. is doing business as Macy's. Macy's West Virginia LLC and Karen Abramowicz-Gross were also named as defendants in the suit.

Lorrie Dworsky was employed by the defendants from May 2006 until May 5, according to a complaint filed July 23 in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Dworsky claims on March 10 she suffered a torn ACL and requested vacation until she could get disability started.

On March 18, Dworsky contacted the human resources department to obtain disability paperwork, completed the paperwork and submitted it via facsimile on April 4, according to the suit.

Dworsky claims she received a letter on April 23, approving her short-term disability from March 11 until April 17.

On April 16, she contacted Human Resources to notify it that she had a doctor's appointment on April 17 and had her doctor's office fax over information regarding the appointment, according to the suit.

Dworsky claims at her doctor's appointment, she was informed she needed more therapy and was set up for a follow-up appointment on May 8, which was later rescheduled for May 10.

During her doctor's appointment, Dworsky was informed she needed to have surgery and she took the paperwork to Macy's Charleston store on May 17, and the request for surgery was faxed to Human Resources on May 21, according to the suit.

Dworsky claims she received a letter on May 23 from Human Resources that stated that since it did not receive the required information, it processed her separation from the company on May 15, so she called Human Resources and explained the situation to her supervisor.

The defendant informed Dworsky that she would be processed as a rehire after her physician resubmitted the paperwork and she was approved, according to the suit.

Dworsky claims she underwent surgery on June 3 and on June 13, she contacted Human Resources and was told Abramowicz-Gross would contact her on June 17. When she did not receive a response, she called again on June 19 and left a message.

On June 21, still having received no response, Dworsky left another message and on July 1, she replied to a letter from Abramowicz-Gross stating that Macy's was standing on termination dated May 5, she says. However, she had previously been told May 15, according to the suit.

Dworsky claims the defendants had actual knowledge of her disability and discriminated against her based on that disability.

The defendants' actions violated the West Virginia Human Rights Act, according to the suit.

Dworsky is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. She is being represented by Matthew S. Criswell, Mark L. French and Steven M. Condaras of Criswell French Condaras PLLC.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.

Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 13-C-1366