He lasted 15 business days - then says it all unravelled after a holiday request
He lasted 15 business days at Harvard before being fired - and alleges a Jewish holiday triggered it all.
A federal lawsuit filed on October 9, 2026 in the Southern District of New York alleges that Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health terminated an Associate Director of Finance and Grants Administration after he took paid time off for Rosh Hashanah. According to the complaint, his supervisor began raising "concerns" about his performance on the very first day he was out for the holiday.
The worker was not new to Harvard. The complaint states he had worked successfully for the university for eight years, from 2015 through 2023, before leaving to pursue another opportunity. In June 2024, he applied for the advertised role at the Center for Biostatistics in Aids Research (CBAR) - a fully remote position supervising a team of six. He was contacted for an interview two days after applying.
What followed, per the filing, was a nine-person interview process, weeks of salary and benefits negotiations, and a formal offer letter on August 2, 2024. He accepted three days later and started on September 23, 2024.
The complaint describes an onboarding period that was largely self-directed. His supervisor allegedly told him she would be "hands-off" during his first two weeks while she worked on financial reports. He received no 30-60-90 day plan, no comprehensive training schedule with due dates, and no management-related expectations, the filing states. His early tasks consisted of IT setup, orientation videos, internal trainings, and one-on-one meetings with his six direct reports.
Then came the holiday request.
The complaint alleges the worker told his supervisor he would need October 3 and 4, 2024 off to observe Rosh Hashanah. The time off was approved. He also told each of his six direct reports individually.
What happened next is at the heart of the lawsuit.
According to the filing, on October 3, 2024 - the first day the worker was out for the holiday - his supervisor contacted the university's director of human resources to share "concerns" about his performance. The complaint says this happened despite the supervisor having given no negative feedback at any point during the worker's first eight business days.
When the worker returned on October 7, 2024, the tone shifted. The filing alleges his supervisor sent an "unusually formal email" requesting a list of all trainings he had completed, then a list of trainings he had not yet completed.
That same day, during what was scheduled as a routine onboarding call, the complaint alleges his supervisor opened with, "I have some serious concerns about you and your work here so far." She then criticized his "productivity," "management style," and "taking time off," according to the filing - none of which had been raised before the worker observed Rosh Hashanah.
The filing quotes the supervisor as saying, "I don't want you thinking you can just take off time whenever you want."
The complaint further alleges the supervisor flagged incomplete trainings - specifically ones she had forwarded to the worker just hours before his holiday, with no due dates attached. The supervisor later acknowledged they were not urgent, according to the filing.
The next day, the worker shared a proposed 30-60-90 day plan with his supervisor, who allegedly agreed with the timelines and expectations. From October 9 through 11, the complaint states, he completed his assigned trainings, met with faculty and direct reports, and reported his progress. No negative feedback came back during this period, the filing alleges.
Then, on October 16, 2024 - the worker's fifteenth business day - he was terminated via Zoom.
According to the complaint, his supervisor told him he was not a "fit" for the role. He asked if he was being terminated for performance. The answer, per the filing, was "no." He asked if he had done something wrong. Again, "no." He asked if he could have done something differently. "No."
The next day brought a different story. The complaint alleges the university's HR director told the worker he had been terminated for performance issues - contradicting what his supervisor had said the day before. A termination letter, which the filing states was drafted by his supervisor, cited a lack of "skills or aptitudes" for the role.
The worker told the HR director he believed his termination was the result of antisemitism and asked to escalate the matter, according to the complaint. The filing alleges the university refused to let him appeal the termination or file an internal discrimination complaint, citing his status as a former employee - which the complaint characterizes as a direct breach of the university's own policies.
The complaint also references what it calls Harvard's "well known and well documented" history of antisemitism, stating the university "has faced multiple lawsuits alleging antisemitism and is currently embroiled in a very public battle with the federal government concerning Defendant's failure to protect Jewish students."
The worker filed a formal discrimination complaint with the EEOC on July 17, 2025. The agency issued clearance for a federal lawsuit on July 14, 2026. The suit brings six claims of religious discrimination and retaliation under federal, state, and city anti-discrimination laws, and seeks compensatory and punitive damages, legal costs, and a court order to prevent further alleged discrimination.
For HR teams, the timeline here is hard to ignore - an employee terminated 15 business days into a role, days after requesting a religious accommodation, with no documented performance concerns beforehand and shifting explanations for the termination afterward.
The allegations in the complaint have not been tested, and no court has made any findings or rulings on the matter.
