Former Lake County case manager files lawsuit against Indiana Department of Child Services

A former family case manager for the Indiana Department of Child Services has filed a lawsuit against the agency, alleging she was disciplined and fired following recurrent absences related to her disabilities, before she could file documents seeking federal protections.

Whitney Williams alleges the agency violated her rights as protected under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and accuses her supervisors, also named in the complaint, of interference and retaliation under the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 related to her July 2019 termination.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Indiana'sNorthern District, also names Ellis Dumas III, a DCS office regional manager, and Channing Collins, a case manager supervisor.

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When reached via email Wednesday evening, a DCS spokeswoman said the agency had no comment.

Williams, who worked for the agency's Lake County office from 2012-19, experiences episodic migraines, anxiety and vertigo that can affect her ability to concentrate, community and complete her work, according to her attorney, Meghan Lehner. The diagnoses occurred around the time of her firing.

"I think it would be fair to say that she attributes a fair amount of her stress at the time to her working conditions at DCS," Lehner said, "which either gave rise to or at the very least exacerbated the conditions that she has."

In May 2019, Williams was placed on a 60-day work improvement plan due to incomplete assessments, according to the lawsuit. While she was given the plan "on or about" May 28, the plan itself was dated May 2, the lawsuit says, during which time she was supposed to have daily meetings with Collins.

However, Williams had previously had a backlog of cases, Lehner said, and it was typical for supervisors to take case managers "out of rotation" to allow them to catch up on work. Creating the improvement plan, Lehner said, is unlike previous treatment Williams had received and unlike actions taken against other family case managers with disabilities who have found themselves in similar circumstances.

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On June 10, 2019, Williams missed work due to disability-related health issues, according to the lawsuit, and on the following day provided human resources with a doctor's note prescribing work restrictions that "constitutes a request for reasonable accommodation." Those accommodations were disregarded, Williams alleges in the lawsuit.

On June 30, she returned to her doctor, who recommended she not return to work through July 4. On July 1, she notified Collins that she would not be at work but that she planned to bring a doctor's note explaining the absence upon her return.

Dumas contacted Williams "within moments" of learning about her absence, according to the lawsuit, "demanding" that she provide the doctor's note within an hour.

On July 5, Collins acknowledged that Williams' absence qualified for protection under the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, according to the lawsuit. Three days later, Collins told Williams she would be placed on "desk duty" to complete her work.

Williams told Collins she had to leave the office for a doctor's appointment and was initially given permission to do so, according to the lawsuit, only to be called back to the office shortly thereafter, causing her to miss the appointment.

Upon her return to the office, Williams received an email from Dumas asking for a meeting in his office, and she was fired "for failing to satisfy the requirements of the (plan)," according to the lawsuit. Her termination was completed before she was able to submit her FMLA paperwork to cover the week-long absence.

"DCS should know better," Lehner said.

Had the agency and her supervisors been willing to make accommodations to meet her needs, Williams likely wouldn't be in this situation, Lehner said.

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"Any of those things would've relieved her stress or maybe even alleviated her need to take leave in the first place," Lehner said. "But because they failed to accommodate her, it got to the point where she needed to take that week off work."

In the lawsuit, Williams seeks reinstatement or damages equal to pay and benefits, reimbursement for lost wages and damages for "emotional distress" caused by the agency's actions.

You can reach IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at 317-444-6156 or holly.hays@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Former Lake County case manager files lawsuit against Indiana Department of Child Services

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