She planned the leave months ahead, got the green light, and still lost her job
A former Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worker alleges she was fired for absences covered by leave the company had already approved.
The custodial worker filed a federal lawsuit against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., Inc. in the Middle District of Florida on September 25, 2026, bringing six claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Florida's Civil Rights Act.
According to the complaint, the worker was employed as a back-of-house utilities custodial worker from May 2023 until her termination in July 2025. During that time, the filing states, she had no significant history of attendance, performance, or disciplinary issues unrelated to her medical leave.
The timeline, as laid out in the complaint, begins in May 2024. That month, the worker submitted paperwork requesting medical leave for gender-affirming surgery - five months ahead of the scheduled procedure. The complaint alleges the company did not notify her of her FMLA rights until October 2024, well past the five-day window the statute requires.
She was approved for short-term disability through February 9, 2025, and underwent two surgical procedures during that period, the filing states. She returned to work on that date.
Then came the second health issue.
In May 2025, the complaint states, the worker experienced a flare-up of anemia and complex post-traumatic stress disorder. She requested intermittent FMLA leave and a reasonable accommodation of occasional leave for those conditions. The company approved the intermittent leave on May 31, 2025, according to the filing.
Within weeks, the situation shifted. The complaint alleges that by mid-June 2025, the worker noticed she was accumulating attendance "points" - the company's demerit system for missed shifts - despite holding approved intermittent FMLA leave. She contacted HR to ask why.
The next day, according to the filing, her manager told her that the company's HR department had made an error on her earlier surgical leave, and that she needed to attend work despite her approved leave.
The worker used FMLA leave on June 27, June 29, and July 4, 2025, the complaint states.
Two days later, she was gone.
On July 6, 2025, an HR representative sent a letter terminating her employment, effective immediately, according to the filing. The stated reason was attendance points - the same points the worker alleges accumulated while she was on approved leave.
The complaint alleges the termination was driven by the worker's disability and her use of protected leave, and that any other justification was pretext. It argues the timing alone - fired shortly after requesting and using approved FMLA leave and disability accommodation - demonstrates the connection between her protected activity and the termination.
The filing further alleges the company failed to provide reasonable accommodation and failed to engage in the interactive process required under the ADA. The complaint also claims the company interfered with the worker's FMLA rights by discouraging the use of leave and failing to restore her to her position after her return.
The worker is seeking back pay, liquidated damages, compensatory and punitive damages, front pay, reinstatement, and attorneys' fees, according to the filing. She has demanded a jury trial.
She filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC and the Florida Commission on Human Relations in March 2026. The EEOC issued a right-to-sue notice in June 2026.
For HR teams that administer points-based attendance systems alongside FMLA and ADA obligations, the case is a practical reminder that the two policies need to talk to each other - and that an administrative error in coding protected leave can set off a chain that ends in litigation.
The allegations in the complaint have not been tested, and no court has made any findings or rulings on the claims.
