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The appeals court gave a mixed decision. Under the New York City Human Rights Law, the hospital did not prove it engaged in a good-faith interactive process before firing her, so that claim survived. But under the state Human Rights Law, the court sided with the hospital. It found Makharadze failed to show she could perform her essential job duties, with or without accommodation. The court also dismissed her retaliation and hostile work environment claims, ruling she did not show she engaged in protected activity or suffered unfair treatment based on her disability. The city law claim was allowed to continue; the other claims were dismissed.
Maia Makharadze worked as a volunteer services coordinator starting in 2008 at what became Mount Sinai Brooklyn. In late 2018, she fell and was hurt. She took approved medical leave and later returned to work. In late 2019, she fell again, injuring her ribs, ankle, spine, and knee. She could not work and asked for more medical leave. The hospital denied it, saying she hadn't worked enough hours in the past year. In December 2019, the hospital ended her employment. She sued, claiming disability discrimination, failure to accommodate, retaliation, and a hostile work environment under both state and New York City human rights laws.
The main question was whether the hospital properly showed it worked with Makharadze to find a reasonable accommodation before firing her, and whether she could prove she could still do her job's essential duties. The court also had to decide if she showed enough evidence of retaliation, meaning she was punished for taking legally protected action.
This case shows that New York City's human rights law can offer broader protection to employees than the state law. Employers may need stronger proof they tried to work with an employee's disability before termination. It also highlights that employees must show real evidence they could still do their job to win under state law.
Talk to a licensed employment law lawyer in New York.