An internal HR email cited in the complaint questioned the path from leave to termination
The EEOC is suing a New Mexico hospital, alleging it fired a 14-year employee with a disability rather than reassign her to an open role.
The federal agency filed suit against St. Vincent Hospital, doing business as Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, on March 31 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico (Case 1:26-cv-00968). The case raises questions that will sound familiar to many HR leaders: how far does the duty to accommodate actually go, and what happens when the interactive process falls short?
At the center of the case is Catherine Maes, who joined the hospital in 2008 as a medical assistant and was later promoted to Patient Care Assistant II in 2018. According to the EEOC's filing, Maes was a strong performer who never scored below a 3 out of 5 on her evaluations and even appeared in a company training video.
That track record hit a turning point in November 2021, when Maes fell and injured her foot. What followed was surgery, a diagnosis of complex regional pain syndrome, and months of limited mobility. The hospital approved FMLA leave, and Maes returned in late February 2022 on light duty, handling phone calls and managing pap books from a desk.
The EEOC alleges Maes repeatedly communicated her restrictions to the hospital and, in late March or early April 2022, told HR and her supervisor she wanted to transfer to a role better suited to her physical limitations. The filing states the hospital had vacancies at the time, including a Medical Office Specialist position that would have allowed Maes to work seated throughout her shift — a role the EEOC says she was qualified for. According to the filing, the hospital took no action to find a vacant position for her.
Instead, according to the filing, HR called Maes on May 27, 2022, and told her the hospital could no longer accommodate her because she was "not yet 100 percent recovered." She was told to leave immediately. A termination letter followed on June 14, ending her employment effective June 30.
What may give HR professionals pause is an internal email the EEOC cites from that same day. An HR assistant allegedly wrote to HR Director Angelo Valencia: "This Maes situation is pretty weird. . . . I'm not sure how we get from leave to termination — if you can help me tie that together, that would be awesome."
The EEOC also alleges the hospital did not offer reassignment as an accommodation to any employee at its Santa Fe facility between 2020 and 2025 — a claim that, if proven, could point to a broader gap in how the organization approached its accommodation obligations.
The agency is seeking backpay, compensatory and punitive damages, reinstatement or front pay, and injunctive relief. Christus St. Vincent, a branch of the Christus Health System with more than 1,000 employees during the relevant period, has not yet responded. No determination has been made on the merits of the case.
